There’s something about President Trump that appeals to people who also enjoy small-motor-based recreation — bikers and boaters in particular.
While visiting family over Labor Day weekend at the border of North and South Carolina, I watched dozens of boaters motor up and down Lake Wylie proudly displaying their red, white, and blue flags declaring, “Make America Great Again,” “Keep America Great,” or “Trump 2020.” Over the course of three days on the water, I saw just two flags with Joe Biden’s name. I wondered to myself how many middle fingers the driver receives on any given day.
This isn’t just a Southern thing. WKBW in Buffalo, New York, reported that same weekend that “hundreds of motorcycles and hundreds of boats all gathered to support President Donald Trump.” Again, it’s that same overlap of interests: small internal combustion engines and Trump’s reelection.
There were similar displays in Texas, Washington, D.C., and Georgia. The boat parade phenomenon has caught the White House’s attention, leading to boasts of the largest-ever boat parades for a political candidate. This has led to a befuddled response from the major media: “Wait, boat parades?”
New York magazine has derisively referred to them as Trump’s “well-off, pleasure-craft-owning supporters,” “wealthy, suburban weekenders who already own several flags with his name on them.” (My sister’s family of four did purchase a new Stingray deck boat this summer, but they would hardly refer to themselves as “wealthy.”)
Perhaps it’s just different tastes. New York media types spend their disposable income on upstate New York homes that allow for social distancing, while in Trump’s America, boats and bikes are the leisure consumption of choice.
Maybe there’s something all-American about the sound of a roaring engine burning up petroleum products. Maybe it’s the blend of community and individualism that the biker and boater worlds provide.
Whatever it is, the love is unbeatable. After a handful of boats in Texas sunk in Lake Travis during a pro-Trump boat parade on choppy waters, more Labor Day boat parades popped up around the country.
Vroom! Vroom!
