A Midwest Trump Signage Road Trip
The ‘road to 2024’ is this traveler’s nightmare. From Chicago to Cleveland and back. Three states: Indiana, Michigan, Ohio.
Heh, that (Trump’s defeat) was six months ago. Get over it!
Not exactly.
In Southold, NY a large relic-looking painted American flag posed an existential crisis for a visitor to the flag painter’s farm stand: what does this mean, exactly? Is the flag painter/bearer a Trump supporter? Can I buy from his farm stand? What does this make me? Will I be harmed? (Sunday NYTimes, July 4)
All good questions. We can help.
July 7–9
Come with us through the Midwest. Beautiful country. Lots of corn. Farm stands. Mason jars. A few — very few — obtrusive signs.
Smaller flags, no painted relics — flag relics are East Coast snobbery at work. Ours are freshly bought, crisp and plenty of ‘em. Counted twenty at one farm. Of course there are the half-acre sized big ones out on the Interstate. But that’s patriotism meets good business — follow the roads to the big American flag, etc.
We start off in Indiana and Michigan. Trump road signage is quiet, restrained. One property cleverly displayed a “Biden-Harris” sign with the international “interdit” sign superimposed:
The rest, lawn signs and flags: mostly ‘Trump,’ ‘Trump 2024.’ ‘Trump-Pence’ is notably absent. Just ‘Trump’ and ‘Make America Great Again.’ Did they run out of the Trump-Pence lawn signs? Were fewer printed? Are they in the trash? What does this mean? And Trump 2024? Who paid for these?
We observe that Trump sign paraphernalia in Michigan and Indiana is demure; in Ohio, loud and brash. More hand made signs. More blue Trump 2024 flags.
The Ohio Trump signage sub-text (of Election 2024) is ‘we’re big and noisy and we’re coming for ‘ya vote.’
Signage debrief: the signs stay up, ‘cause the election is not over. The election fraud is not over, so we’ll prove it with our special do-over.
Our political mulligan.
A cable Trump Rally watcher recently shared that as one moves west of Ohio the rally crowds are increasingly more distracted, paging/tapping their cell phones, younger and presumably out to hook up or get paid or both. In Ohio they’re mixed age, look serious, white and Christian. Lots of cross neck ware. Less tattoos.
Presumably, the ‘fear and loathing’ of a “Trumpyish” win in 2024 is sufficient to drive the vote in 2022 to elect Republican majorities in Congress.
But that’s signage counter logic.
What’s behind the signs? Are these an invitation? A barricade?
Or something else: Say big ‘fella that’s quite a sign ‘ya got there.
Crossing into Indiana, heading back to Chicago, we found a ourselves in a detour around Arcola, Indiana. We spotted an Amish elder playing hide and seek with his grandson.
He waved at us passing by. We waved back.
No lawn signs.
July 11
