Political satirist Walter Masterson makes videos where he speaks with Trump supporters at rallies and events. In a recent encounter, he spoke with a merchandise vendor who began the conversation with unbridled enthusiasm: "I'm voting for the man that's going to take America back, baby! Donald J. Trump, man. Let's go! Let's go!"
The vendor, who sells political t-shirts, shared his business challenges: "My biggest issue is probably going to be inflation because I'm a business owner and it hit me hard." When discussing his merchandise sourcing, he revealed a key contradiction: "No my blanks — no, see that's the problem. They're not [made in USA], because a blank in USA cost me $20. I can't afford that."
The vendor initially insisted, "If we tax them, hit tariffs, the same item they're making over there will cost the same to make over here." When Masterson explained that American consumers, not China, pay the tariffs, the vendor pushed back: "The companies pay the tariffs, not us."
To help clarify the concept, Masterson called over another participant named Jolly, who offered a simple retail example: "I sell you something for $10 right and then you're going to sell it to him for $20… But then I make you pay me $15 for it. Are you still going to sell it to him for 20?" This practical illustration helped the vendor understand the economic reality, leading him to acknowledge, "Oh, it's going to have to go up. Yeah, the consumer foots the bill."
The discussion then expanded to include proposed sales taxes and billionaire tax cuts, further dampening the vendor's enthusiasm. His final response was a far cry from his initial optimistic position: "Yeah, I don't agree with that. I don't like that. I'm not for that."
Low-information voters are in for many surprises in the coming years.
