A viral moment turned into a business opportunity for Keith Lambert.
On October 2, NASCAR driver Brandon Brown spoke with NBC reporter Kelli Stavast for a post-race interview after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In the crowd, fans were chanting “F*** Joe Biden.” However, the television reporter interviewing Brown on the broadcast inaccurately said that the fans were saying “Let’s go Brandon.” The moment went viral on social media and has since turned into a coded way to say “F*** Joe Biden.”
And since it was a popular meme at the Democratic president’s expense, supporters of one of his political rivals, Donald Trump, wanted merchandise that said “Let’s Go Brandon.”
Lambert, who was still operating a few New England For Trump stores at the time, started selling some “Let’s Go Brandon” shirts. They were an instant hit.
“When that whole thing happened, it went viral, people thought it was funny and people were asking for merchandise,” Lambert told NewBostonPost in a telephone interview. “It was overwhelming. It just took off and 80 percent of our sales were that kind of merchandise. Then we tried more designs and more merchandise. That’s how the business works: we increase lines based on sales. Then after a while, I thought, ‘Let’s try opening a Let’s Go Brandon store,’ and so I went for it.”
So instead of his business being on the decline since Trump is no longer in the White House, it has been rapidly expanding. The first Let’s Go Brandon Store opened in Hanson, Massachusetts in mid-November at the site of a former “New England for Trump” store that closed at the end of 2020.
A reporter for NewBostonPost visited the Hanson location and saw an array of merchandise for sale, including T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, bumper stickers, Christmas ornaments, sodas, Koozies (foam beverage container holders), keychains, and gift baskets.
Lambert has now opened seven locations for the Let’s Go Brandon stores and plans to expand. He expects to open a location in Windham, Connecticut at some point in the next week as well as a store in southern New Hampshire near the Massachusetts-New Hampshire line. Possible locations include Nashua and Plaistow in New Hampshire as possible future locations, as well, in addition to Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. Additionally, he’s considering adding a Cape Cod location.
However, Lambert noted that the North Attleborough location, the one that has received the most media attention, is the first brand-new Let’s Go Brandon Store store that was never previously a New England For Trump store.
The existing locations of Let’s Go Brandon stores are in Bellingham, Easton, Hanson, Somerset, North Attleborough in Massachusetts and Warwick in Rhode Island. He also has a permanent trailer set up in East Bridgewater. Plus, there are a pair of popup trailers that change locations regularly.
Before the now-famous NASCAR interview, Lambert was operating three lingering New England for Trump stores, in Easton, Bellingham, and Warwick. They’ve all been rebranded as Let’s Go Brandon stores since.
Even though Massachusetts is a heavily Democratic state, Lambert said he has seen an enthusiastic response to his new Let’s Go Brandon stores.
“People are very excited. It’s a great spot for Christmas gifts. People want to support the local business and express their First Amendment right which is to say what they feel about our president,” Lambert said.
He said that he knows some of the merchandise his store sells is controversial, but also that he is happy to provide people with an outlet to express their First Amendment rights — just as many people who disliked Donald Trump did when Trump was president.
“My goal is to allow people to come into a space where they can express themselves freely without people giving them a hard time,” Lambert said. “I want people to be able to go out and not feel ashamed.”
“Other people have a lot to say about their opinions, so they should be able to say and do what they want,” he added. “For the four years that Trump was in office, everyone on the left was saying how much they hated him, F Donald Trump. it wasn’t a new thing, it was just their thing that they don’t like now because they don’t feel that way about this president.”
In addition to having merchandise that people want, Lambert said his stores offer a pleasant experience for shoppers that they can’t get online.
“I’m doing this because people need someone to stick up for them so they can stick up for themselves,” he said. “People thank me for opening the store so they can get that merchandise. Shipping has been crazy, but it’s all about the experience when you come into the store. It’s warming, welcoming, it’s a lot of like-minded people and people are free to express themselves.”
Conservatives expressed their appreciation for the stores.
That includes Rockland resident Brian White, who recently visited the Hanson location.
“As a proud member of the LGBFJBMAGA community I found the store to be a refreshing oasis of tolerance for the oppressed and persecuted voters that suffer prejudice and bigotry from the Iron fist of the woke,” White told NewBostonPost via social media. “Plus, it’s funny. Great products.”
It also includes a Hanson resident named Dustin, who visited the Hanson location on Tuesday. He gave only a first name.
“It’s great to see them back,” Dustin told NewBostonPost outside of the store. “I went Christmas shopping last year when it was still the Trump store and kept the tradition alive today. It’s a liberal state and I’m glad a lot of us who think differently have something to bring us together.”
Hanson resident Laura Doherty is glad to see the business back up and running in Hanson.
“Love it … so glad to have another business in town with a positive message,” Doherty told NewBostonPost via social media.
More information on the Let’s Go Brandon stores is available at www.nefortrump.com.
Photos of the Let’s Go Brandon store in Hanson, Massachusetts are below:
Photos of the Hanson store by Tom Joyce.
A photo of a Let’s Go Brandon banner at a home in Millis is below:
A house on Exchange Street in Millis, Massachusetts sports a Let’s Go Brandon banner on its porch. Photo by Matt McDonald
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it … so glad to have another business in town with a positive message,” Doherty told NewBostonPost via social media.
