McBEE — Lynn Newsome has always been an entrepreneur.
He’s sold yo-yos, toy flying discs and rings made from silver dollar coins. But in his 77 years, he has never come across anything that sells better than one man: former President Donald Trump.
It began in 2015 with a handful of T-shirts in Sevierville, Tennessee. Newsome, who had traveled the South peddling his handmade silver rings, was gifted about 50 Trump T-shirts from a fellow vendor at a flea market to supplement his sales.
Newsome quickly realized he didn’t need the silver.
“It was the hottest thing I’d ever sold in my life,” he said.
He began exclusively selling Trump merchandise from his tent and trailer around South Carolina’s Pee Dee region. Business was so successful, he moved into a brick-and-mortar store in Darlington, then to his current location just outside the McBee (pop. 759) town limits in March.
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“Trumpville in the Carolinas” was born, the third brick-and-mortar, all-Trump, all-the-time store to open in South Carolina.
“I support Trump only,” Newsome said. “All these people that we send to Washington are nothing but a bunch of thieves and leeches.”
Trump may have a firm grip on Republican voters nationally but since the 2016 election it’s also allowed business owners like Newsome to capitalize on Trump’s name. Whether Trump knows or cares is unclear. Ex-presidents and public figures often see their likenesses reproduced but can do very little about it.
Lynn Newsome stands in his store, “Trumpville in the Carolinas,” Aug. 29, 2023. He moved to the brick and mortar location in March. Macon Atkinson/Staff
Newsome sees what he’s doing as Trump-positive. From his one-room store on S.C. Highway 151, he sells Trump items of every kind. Shot glasses, keychains, collectable coins and fake gold $100 bills with the former president’s headshot on them. Pet collars and a dart board with President Joe Biden’s face on it sit on a shelf near stand-ups of Donald and wife Melania, which were sourced from Hickory, North Carolina.
One wall of the store is lined with racks of T-shirts made in Honduras and El Salvador for $15 each. There are also flags reading “Trump 2024, Save America,” and “When I die, don’t let me vote Democrat,” both selling for $10.
Lynn Newsome shows the design of the new t-shirt he is creating and plans to sell in his store. He anticipates he will sell thousands of them. Macon Atkinson/Staff
In the wake of Trump’s recent indictments for state and federal crimes, Newsome is working on a T-shirt design with Trump’s mugshot on it. He expects it to sell into the thousands.
Newsome knows location is key: Some of his customers are tourists passing through Chesterfield County on their way to Myrtle Beach, while locals also shop there.
Chesterfield County is conservative country; Trump won 59.8 percent of the vote there in 2020.
Newsome fits right in. He wears a bright red shirt that reads “Biden sucks; our liberty and freedom is at stake!” in bold white lettering, along with a pair of cargo shorts and a pair of clip-on sunglasses that flip down over his regular lenses.
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Newsome isn’t the first Trump-promoting business to set up shop in South Carolina. In 2020, Marion County resident and carnival owner Katie Wilson opened “The Trump Store” in downtown Conway, which has since closed. The space now advertises a one-hour iPhone and iPad repair business. Wilson did not return a call for comment.
Myrtle Beach resident Richard Kligman opened his store, “Keep on Trumpin’,” in North Myrtle Beach in 2022. What first began as an aisle of flags in his kite store, “Klig’s Kites,” became a 25,000-square-foot storefront space with custom flags, T-shirts and baseball caps.
Kligman turned to local manufacturers to make specialty products for the store, like T-shirts and decals. The business is so successful now that parking lot vendors try to source from the store. But they won’t sell to other vendors, he said.
“We like to have products that are uniquely ours,” Kligman said.
The store gets mostly tourists visiting from states like Ohio, New York, West Virginia and Michigan.
While Kligman declined to share his profit range, “it has definitely paid the mortgage,” he said.
Back in McBee, the community reception to the Trumpville store has been mostly positive. At times, people drive by and honk their horns in support. But Newsome can tell when someone comes into the store who disagrees with his political beliefs.
“They huff and puff, then turn around and walk out,” he said.
There are no security cameras in the tiny space, which also serves as Newsome’s home. His self-described security system is a loaded .38 revolver near the cash register. He has never needed to use it, he said.
While Newsome also declined to share how much he makes in sales, he gets about 10 to 15 customers on a daily basis, he said.
“It’s a good business,” he said.
First-time customer Barbara Miles stopped by the store on a quiet Tuesday afternoon during her drive from Johnsonville, a town in Florence County.
Lynn Newsome stands in his store, “Trumpville in the Carolinas,” Aug. 29, 2023. He moved to the brick and mortar location in March. Macon Atkinson/Staff
Miles, a Republican, said she saw the signs from the road and wanted to check it out.
“It’s really neat,” she said.
Chesterfield County Councilman Benjamin Conklin Jr., who represents Newsome’s area, said he has never had a complaint about the store.
“It don’t really bother me. Everybody’s entitled to their opinions,” Conklin said.
Banks Burch, chair of the Chesterfield County Republican Party, echoed a similar sentiment.
“If people want to buy it, he saw an avenue to make some revenue and take advantage of that,” Burch said. “I ain’t mad at him for making money, you know what I mean? There are people all over the country taking advantage of that, not just here.”
The Chesterfield Democratic Party did not respond to an email requesting comment.
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While Newsome has competition from Myrtle Beach and Trump’s online store, his prices are cheaper, he said. A red “Make America Great Again” cap retails for $50 on Trump’s official online storefront. Newsome sells his caps for $15 to $20.
Meanwhile, Trump and his team are finding their own ways to benefit from Trump’s branding. The campaign recently rolled out a “Seal of Approval” to an exclusive group of candidates and committees to distinguish Trump-approved uses of his name and likeness in fundraising efforts, including groups like “The American Dream PAC” and “House Conservative Victory Fund.”
They’re also profiting from his legal woes. Save America is selling their own “Never Surrender!” booking mugshot T-shirts for $34, as well as two beverage coolers for $15 and coffee mugs for $25. His son Don Jr. is selling “Free Trump” T-shirts for $29.99 and posters for $19.99, promising to donate the proceeds to their legal defense fund.
Although Trump trademarked the “Make America Great Again” slogan in 2012, Newsome isn’t worried about potential legal trouble. Many photos and videos from the Trump presidency are public domain, and Newsome has his business license and pays his sales tax, he said.
“Trump wants me here. I’m free advertising,” Newsome said.
It’s not clear if the Trump organization knows about stores like Trumpville or if they care that business owners are profiting from Trump’s brand. There were only two instances where the Trump organization fought other attempts to copyright similar phrases to “Make America Great Again,” according to records from the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office.
A Trump campaign representative did not respond to questions via email.
Newsome does not see his store as controversial.
“It’s just a way to make a living,” he said. “Everybody’s got to do it.”