Full throttle: Bikers for Trump has big plans

That’s because the bikers’ real purpose in holding the rally was to demonstrate their loyalty to President Trump. “The fact that Donald Trump has endorsed DeSantis is all Bikers for Trump needs to know,” Cox explained to the few dozen bikers on hand. “What I intend to do is simply to follow Trump’s lead.”

Following Trump’s lead has served Cox well. Three years after launching Bikers for Trump, Cox is attempting to transform the group into one of America’s most powerful grassroots political organizations.

Cox has had what can best be described as a colorful life. A chainsaw woodcarving artist who once worked as an advance man for Vice President Dan Quayle, Cox’s first brush with fame came when he mowed the lawn near the Lincoln Memorial during the 2013 government shutdown. That stunt earned Cox the nickname “lawnmower man,” and several national media appearances.

Cox launched Bikers for Trump in the fall of 2015, back when Trump’s campaign was eliciting more laughter than endorsements. In an interview in his Bikers for Trump RV the night before the DeSantis rally, Cox said he was initially laughed at for backing the reality TV star.

And it did seem odd that a group of rugged ex-vets and tattooed blue-collar types would endorse a draft-avoiding, necktie-selling Manhattanite who prefers riding in limos to mounting motorcycles.

But there was something about Trump that resonated with these bikers. There was his aversion to political correctness, which they shared. “Like Trump, the biker will tell it like it is,” Cox said. Also, Trump’s platform seemed tailor-made to bikers. “The backbone of the bike community is the vet,” said Cox. Trump’s promises to “knock the hell out of ISIS,” rebuild the military, and improve veteran healthcare were exactly what vets wanted to hear.

Bikers for Trump quickly became one of Trump’s most visible backers. The bikers patrolled the candidate’s rallies, informally working with law enforcement to identify rabble-rousers and, at times, getting into scuffles with protesters.

The bikers’ volunteer security work earned it appreciative tweets from Trump and some national media attention. After the election, Cox was invited to meet the president in the Oval Office.

Cox earned more love from Trump in the lead-up to Trump’s inauguration when some left-wing groups threatened violence. Cox responded that his bikers would form a “wall of meat” to prevent protesters from causing a disturbance. “Bikers for Trump are on their way,” Trump tweeted.

After Trump’s presidency started, the bikers began thinking of ways to capitalize on their newfound stature.

Working mostly with a staff of part-time volunteers, Cox has increased the group’s social media presence and the group now boasts 100,000 members, according to Cox. He established the Bikers for Trump political action committee to boost Trump-backed candidates across the country. Cox has held rallies and produced promotional videos for several Republican candidates. He is planning events in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Arizona.

But Cox’s ambitions aren’t confined to the ballot box. Speaking with me, Cox seemed most excited about helping the Trump administration combat the opioid epidemic. His plan involves erecting mobile drug treatment centers across the Rust Belt and on Indian Reservations.

Cox has visions of turning bikers into a voting bloc as influential as evangelicals or gun owners. “There’s no reason we can’t be the NRA,” he said.

But unlike those groups, Bikers for Trump isn’t rooted in a religion or a constitutional right but rather in an unflagging loyalty to a man. “We are not ‘Bikers Who Think We Know Best,” Cox likes to say. “We are ‘Bikers for Trump.’ He has to point the direction. He’s the compass. We don’t ever get ahead of him.”

Trump has delivered on the issues bikers care about most. Under Trump, the United States has helped liberate nearly 100 percent of the territory held by ISIS. The spending bill signed by Trump in March included $700 billion for the military, the largest military budget in U.S. history.

Not surprisingly, Cox thinks Trump is doing an “awesome job.” And he has some advice for the Trump haters. “Remember that song by Stephen Stills, ‘If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with’? The ones that don’t like him, they should take that song to heart, because he’s doing a great job,” Cox said.

According to Cox, reforming the VA should be America’s most urgent priority. “Twenty-two vets a day kill themselves,” he said. “Who’s helping them? These vets I meet, they don’t go to the VA because they don’t think they’ll get care they need. That in itself is a crisis.” Cox thinks that Trump’s plan to replace David Shulkin with White House physician Ronny Jackson to lead the VA is a step in the right direction.

Back at the No Name Saloon, Cox was followed on stage by Rolling Thunder’s Michael Shelby, or “New York Myke” as he is known in the biker community. Supporting Trump is just like being in the military, Shelby said, “You fall in line and you follow orders.”

After Shelby spoke it was Fred Costello’s turn. A dentist and Florida assemblyman who’s running to replace DeSantis in the House, Costello looked a little out of place wearing a sport jacket and slacks.

But Costello knew his audience well and, after a brief introduction by Cox, gave them wanted to hear: “Let me tell you what I love about Donald Trump.”

Daniel Allott (@DanielAllott) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. Previously he was an author of the Examiner’s Race to 2020 project and deputy commentary editor at the Examiner.