‘All Americans’ at Trump Store

By WILLIAM PAINE

Patriot Publishing

“This is a place where we’re all Americans,” declared Jo Anne Price, owner of the Trump Store at 129 Franklin Street in Christiansburg. The Trump Store can be easily distinguished by the multitude of Trump themed flags and signage lining the parking lot next to the bright red, white and blue building that serves as the Trump Store headquarters.

Upon entering this single-story Cape Cod style structure, one sees Donald Trump themed items of almost every description occupying every space in the room. There are three rooms within the building that are filled to the brim with Trump paraphernalia, including T-shirts, flags, hats, shoes and signs. Imprinted on these items are slogans like: “Firefighters for Trump,” “Farmers for Trump,” ” Jesus is My Savior – Trump is My President,” “I’m voting for the Convicted Felon” and “Love Lives Here: Love of God, Family, Friends and Community.”

“This one’s been a particularly good seller,” said Price of a yard sign that reads: “Before you break into my house, Stand outside, Get Right with Jesus, Tell him you’re on your way.”

“I wasn’t going to do a big, big store,” said Price, as she motioned to the building’s interior. “I was just going to use these two rooms as the store, but as you can see, I’m having to expand.”

Price moved to Christiansburg from her native Lynchburg in 2017, when she married her husband, William Price.

“This is my fifth business,” said Jo Anne, as she pointed to a framed newspaper article from 1994. “I built a brand-new laundry and owned it for 20 years. I was 40 years old. That was 32 years ago. I won a national award for the most beautiful, well-run laundry in the industry. It was unique because it had a lounge, a kid’s world and even a Mexican restaurant. The chief of police came every day. Over 80,000 people came through that laundry. Before that, I sold computers.”

“I have a financial investment background,” Price continued. “I am a licensed financial advisor. I ran an Edward Jones office in Lynchburg before I sold my office to a young man.”

How did she decide to open a Trump Store?

“All good ideas come from above,” responded Jo Anne with a smile. “I came off the road in 2020 when they closed the state of Ohio. I was an independent contractor and I delivered training to corporations. The way I got the idea is that, during COVID in 2020, when I put my MAGA hat on and I would walk through Home Depot, Lowes’s or Walmart, people would come up to me and whisper, ‘Nice hat.’ And I would say, ‘Why are you whispering?’ We would be in the aisle and we would talk and I thought, we need a place where we can freely come and we don’t whisper. A place we can talk. That’s when I started looking for a place. We were on Pepper’s Ferry Road in 2021. I moved here in October 2022.”

Though Trump related merchandise can be found most everywhere, the interior of the Trump Store building is not solely dedicated to retail sales.

“This is our strategy room and also our prayer room,” Price explained, as she entered a space with folding tables decorated with covers designed like American flags. “We have prayer at 5 p.m. every Monday. We pray for Trump and our nation. There’s six of us and we’ve been doing this for three years.”

An adjoining room serves as Price’s business office, where, as Chairwoman, she once managed the affairs of the Montgomery County Republican Party. Since leaving that position, Price’s party affiliation may have altered but her dedication to Donald Trump remains steadfast.

“I’m not Republican or Democrat,” Price stated. “I’m an American and that’s the bottom line. I believe that we all need to get that focus back. Different people come here but we’re all like-minded Americans. A lady walked in and said, ‘I’m a Democrat.’ I said, ‘Welcome to the Trump Store, I’m an American.’ And she said, ‘Well, I am too.’ We had a very good conversation. She bought six flags. This is an awakening. Because our country’s in trouble, we’re living through an awakening.”

“This is where I show documentaries,” said Price as she gestured towards a 75-inch TV screen in the adjoining room, which also contained several flag themed tables and a large white board with lots of writing. “We hold meetings here too. I believe that truth is our only weapon and education is our only choice. I’m all about education. I’m all about truth. So, I teach people how to refute any of the untruths and the lies that the other side has, because Republicans are piss poor at that. We need to understand how to communicate effectively.”

In this room, Price shows documentary films, like Dinesh D’Souza’s 2000 Mules, at no cost. She asks only that a person who views the film brings a friend … and maybe some popcorn.

In still another room dedicated to all things Trump, Price presented several photographs that she produced featuring historic occasions. One photo showed a young Donald Trump shaking hands with President Ronald Reagan and, as one might expect, there were several shots of the recent attempted assassination. There are also clothing items in this room, including a woman’s one-piece bathing suit with a Confederate flag design.

What will Price do with the Trump Store after the election?

“I’m not real sure,” Price admitted. “That depends on what happens. I do believe it’s always been a market for teaching and training about the true history of our country. You’ll notice my beautiful Confederate flag (bathing suit). People come in and they go, ‘Why? Why do you have that flag there?’ That was a battle flag. There’s six of them because there were six major battles and they had a battle flag for each one. They demonized so much of our history.”

Recently, CNN came to the Christiansburg Trump Store and made a short news piece. The reporter immediately took note of the Confederate flag bathing suit.

“This is what CNN saw,” said Price. “They started out with my confederate bathing suit and you know what? The cameraman bought one for his wife. He thought it was so beautiful … and it is. He also bought the confederate flip flops.”

Another example of footwear available at the Trump store would include a pair of iconic golden sneakers emblazoned with a T on the tongue.

“The first 1,000 pair were numbered, and now they’re selling for $40,000,” Price revealed. “A lot of these things will become collectibles. I have a pair on my shelf at home and they’re appreciating.”

Jo Anne’s husband, William Price, came just as the interview ended.  Before taking a photo of the two of them standing in front of the Trump Store, Jo Anne said this:

“I want you to make sure of is, that this is my way of helping President Trump, because he’s the best and greatest president this country’s ever had.”

The Trump Store at 129 Franklin Avenue is open from 10 till 5 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and noon till 5 p.m. Sunday. The Trump Store is closed on Thursdays.