‘It’s time’: Trump Store in Bucks County closing due to declining sales
Mike Domanico's store thrived during the Biden administration, but Trump's return to the White House has been bad for business.
One Trump supporter’s journey from a mall kiosk to a Bucks County strip mall is coming to an end this month.
The “Trump Store,” a Bensalem spot for merchandise and knickknacks celebrating President Donald Trump, is closing its doors after six years in business. The store’s final day is Jan. 31.
Mike Domanico, who co-owns the store with his wife, Monica, remains an ardent supporter of the president. But business is business, and Domanico said sales have declined since Trump returned to the White House, forcing the “tough decision” to shut down.
“Business has slowed down some because there’s not really much action going on with Trump,” Domanico said. “It’s time.”
There were other factors. The store’s lease is up in February, and Domanico wants to devote more of his time to a booming side business selling gun show merchandise.
Domanico said Trump’s tariffs on imported goods haven’t impacted his business at all.
“Any of the stuff I buy is priced the same as it was before all the tariffs took effect,” Domanico said.
The store began its closeout sale on Tuesday, Jan. 6, exactly five years to the day when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. Everything’s on sale, from shirts featuring the president as an Eagles player to hats promoting a fictitious 2028 reelection campaign barred by the U.S. Constitution.
Domanico, who founded his T-shirt business, Sik-Nastee, in 2017, began selling Trump merchandise at a kiosk in the Neshaminy Mall in November 2019.
After the holidays, Domanico ditched the Biden merchandise he was forced to sell by the mall’s management company and opened his first Trump Store in a strip mall alongside a Hispanic bakery and a travel agent. The store remained open during COVID closures by selling Trump face masks, allowing it to operate as a “life-sustaining business.”
Domanico opened a sister Trump Store in Chalfont in July 2022, but closed it last year due to issues with the landlord and some vandalism. He has two full-time employees helping him run the store.
In his six years selling Trump merchandise, Domanico said the only tough year was after the 2020 election. Following his second impeachment, Trump appeared to lose support from most Republicans, and sales at the store slowed.
“I stuck with it because I knew he was going to run again, and it worked out very well,” Domanico said.
Sales grew during the final years of Joe Biden’s tenure, fueled by Trump becoming the first former president indicted for a crime. “Free Trump” shirts became a particularly hot seller, and the store saw a spike in sales when the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., was raided by FBI agents.
The store’s closing comes just a few months after Democrats swept every countywide race in off-year elections in Bucks County. It’s a dramatic political shift compared to just last year, when Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate since 1988 to win the swing county.
While many Bucks County residents appear to have soured on the president and his policies, Domanico isn’t among them.
“I think his second term has been great,” Domanico said. “I know the liberal media turns everything around, making it look bad, but he’s doing some great stuff. I love it.”