SALEM, VA – If you’ve driven through Salem the past few days - chances are, you’ve seen one of the Trump merchandise tents.
There are no less than 10 different merchandise vendors all over the city - all capitalizing on Trump’s visit.
“Money is green, it’s not red or blue,” vendor Michael Goodart said.
Michael Goodart has been selling political merchandise since 2009.
“There’s a niche of what people want. People want to express their political beliefs,” Goodart said.
At first, he sold things for Democratic and Republican candidates.
“I sold stuff for Obama and Romney and I sold stuff for Trump and Hillary.”
But he quickly found where the money was.
“Since 2016 we’ve only been on the right side because that’s the only place you can actually go and make some money,” he said.
Goodart is from Missouri and follows Trump from rally to rally.
And while he says he makes good money - he has his fair share of naysayers.
“We had a couple of ladies come over and speak to us not so kindly. They wanted us to get out of their town,” he said.
But - he’s focused on the people who do want him there.
“We’ve seen a ton of people come through. It’s been everybody from business owners, to I’ve had people who are just wanting some kind of merchandise who can barely afford 15 bucks for a t-shirt.”
For Goodart, selling merchandise is his career.
“This is my job,” he said.
10 News will have coverage of the rally Saturday online.
