Republican Rep. Bob Good of Virginia spent his weekend getting booted from a pop-up Donald Trump store in his own district. Good’s problem, it seems, is that he initially backed Ron DeSantis’ bid for president. It took only “minutes” after DeSantis called it quits for Good to then endorse Trump. That might be too little, too late for Good.
According to Virginia Scope, the House Freedom Caucus chair showed up uninvited to the grand opening of the election-inspired shop. The space was recently rented by now-former Appomattox County GOP Committee Chair Karen Angulo—a Trump supporter. Angulo had invited fellow MAGA member state Sen. John McGuire, who has mounted a primary challenge to Good. In a statement, Angulo says that even “[a]fter being told the night before that he was not welcome, Bob showed up uninvited, and attempted to make the day about himself, instead of President Trump.”
In video obtained by The Daily Beast, you can see Good being confronted by Angulo, with the two going back and forth about Good’s unwelcome presence, and Good apparently leaving.
Angulo resigned her position as district GOP committee chair shortly after the events of the day, claiming Good’s people removed her, something Virginia Scope reports is not possible since a committee chair can only be removed by member votes. MAGA-man McGuire has the distinction of being one of a few Republicans who attended the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally/insurrection and still has a job.
The Trump stores have been popping up for some time as a way for folks to make some gift shop retail money while Trump’s never-ending campaign—which began in 2015—rolls on. While the Farmville store is too new to have any reviews, there’s a Boones Mill store about 100 miles west that’s been around since 2020. A review from TripAdvisor calls it an “[a]wesome store with a HUGE selection of items. You can get your picture made beside the lifesize cut out of the Donald. Plus Melania is there also. The owners are professional business folks working to represent true Americans - those who value God and the morals we were raised with.”
A five-star Yelp review is even more effusive:
I love this place. Snd I love GOD and USA .
Best store in town right now.
Liars and cowards and corrupt officials need to be escorted out of the United States of America
GOD is PRO LIFE.
Get rid of lying Democrats.
Support this great store.
Another reviewer pointed out some important criteria one might want to consider when thinking about visiting a Trump store: “This is a great store full of great stuff for people who live [sic] this country. If you hate America, you won't like this place. If you love America, this place is for you.”
As for Good, he’s going to have to find a new way to crawl back into the good graces of the MAGA cult—if being in their good graces is even a thing.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to note that John McGuire is primarying Bob Good.
Ohhhhh yeah! Democrats kicked ass and then some in Tuesday's special election in New York, so of course we're talking all about it on this week's episode of "The Downballot." Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard explain how Tom Suozzi's win affects the math for Democrats' plan to take back the House, then dive into the seemingly bottomless list of excuses Republicans have been making to handwave their defeat away. The bottom line: Suozzi effectively neutralized attacks on immigration—and abortion is still a huge loser for the GOP.
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