The controversial Trump Truth Store in Crystal Lake is reopening following a temporary closure due to plummeting sales the owner attributed to the unpopularity of the war in Iran.
The MAGA-themed shop will open again at 10 a.m. on Saturday; a ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m.
“Let’s celebrate this great place where patriots can openly talk and have fun with other patriots,” a reopening announcement on Facebook reads next to an animation of the store’s namesake, President Donald Trump. “I look forward to seeing you!”
Store owner Lisa Fleischmann shut down the business on March 26, citing a drop in sales amid the broadly unpopular U.S.- and Israel-led war in Iran.
She conjectured that many Trump supporters were less inclined to visit or buy merchandise during this time. She added that she had experienced a similar decline in patronage when the Trump administration announced stiff tariffs, which also faced disapproval among many Americans.
But Fleischmann now predicts sales will bounce back again and the impact of the war on her customer base will abate.
“Just like the tariff thing, it just lasted a few weeks,” she said. “I knew it would eventually blow over.”
The polarizing business — which offers shirts reading “0% Liberal” and “Find the Cure TDS: Trump Derangement Syndrome” — has had a tumultuous history in the northwest suburbs, with a roller coaster of openings and closings in recent months.
Fleischmann agreed to vacate her previous store in Huntley over the summer as part of a settlement agreement with her landlord.
The Trump Truth Store faced eviction at that location over several alleged building and sign code ordinance violations. Those citations were in part due to a roughly 6-foot-tall inflatable replica of Trump, which used to wave outside of that 900-square-foot store.
In mid-January, Fleischmann opened the new, much larger store in Crystal Lake, with long-term plans to turn the site into a gathering place offering leisure activities like Trump-themed bingo games and a mock oval office where visitors will be able to take pictures at a faux presidential desk.
She said sales were strong at first but then tanked after the Feb. 28 inception of the war against Iran, leading to the abrupt late-March temporary store shutdown.
News of the shop’s reopening sparked a range of opinions on social media.
Several supporters reacted with words of encouragement and photos of themselves donning Trump Truth merchandise.
“Great, I will come,” one fan of the store posted.
“We will be there!” an Facebook user said.
Others were not so eager for the Trump Truth Store’s latest reprisal.
“Are you giving away free copies of the Epstein files?” one social media user posted.
Another detractor asked if Fleischmann would be providing gas money, a nod to the rise in fuel prices since the war in Iran began.
“Could you print some images of Trump on toilet paper?” someone asked. “I’d buy some rolls of Trump toilet paper.”
