Drive into Waycross on U.S. 84 just off U.S. 1 and you’ll see something unusual: a barbershop dedicated to one of America’s most polarizing political figures.
The Trump Barbershop wasn’t always called that, says owner Jesse Gardner, a beefy ex-law enforcement officer who has been cutting hair for 17 years. But after the 2020 election, Gardner decided to exercise his First Amendment rights in the form of a political poke in the eye.
He said he got mad at the possibility that the city might take down its Confederate statue. He was staunchly opposed. He said he didn’t want government to start “telling the American people that our past no longer mattered and the history no longer mattered.”
He added a logo of Trump’s blonde swoop over a pair of scissors and a straight razor on the front window of his shop, along with the words “Trump Barbershop: Making Haircuts Great Again.”
The political statement hasn’t affected his business, he says. In fact, he prides himself on cutting hair from Ware County’s Republicans and Democrats alike.
“It’s to help us, to help this young man, to keep his rights and keep it a free country as long as it can,” Gardner said, as he used an electric razor to buzz around 12-year-old Jordan Beuter’s ears.
Retiree Don Hemphill, who says he’s a Democrat but will vote outside his party, was not dissuaded by the Republican candidate’s name on the front window. He gets a $5 senior discount on the regular price of $20-$25 that Gardner charges.
Gardner says the discount is his way of showing respect for seniors in hard economic times. But as he dispenses political view and haircuts, Gardner isn’t as respectful of public servants, especially President Joe Biden, who he demeans as mentally deficient.
“You know, Lord, most of ’em’s retired,” he said about his clients. “When they were setting their nest egg back, they wasn’t counting on this retard that we got running this country. Medicine’s through the roof, everything’s through the roof. So, and most folks, especially older folks, they want a haircut once a week. They can’t afford it.”
Gardner’s biggest concerns this election are the economy and the border. But his views on immigrants are nuanced. “Bringing in field workers, I got no problem with that,” he said. “Really and truly, this country couldn’t survive without them. You don’t want to just open the floodgates.” Otherwise, he says, farmers would have to “pay double for workers, so it trickles down to me and you.”
He’s more than willing to talk politics with Democrats, or anyone who comes into the shop for a haircut. Some Democrats, he says, you can actually debate with.
“Some of them, some of them are good people. They really are,” he said, while adding that they are misinformed.
He cited as an example a Black client who told Gardner that he would vote for Kamala Harris, not Trump, because of her skin color. “That’s the dumbest reason to ever vote for anyone,” he said.
He also vehemently opposes Harris’ support for the LGBTQ+ community, especially when it relates to issues about trans identities.
“Now you’re arguing over, you know, tampons in the bathroom and God knows what else, you know, genders.” he said. ”We work too hard for our money to give it away to somebody for a sex change.”
At the same time, he acknowledges that Trump is no saint and that some voters are put off by Trump’s vulgar language.
Trump was convicted of sexually abusing at least one of dozens of women who have publicly accused him of groping or molesting them. But Harris’ stance on transgender rights and Tim Walz signing a law to provide feminine hygiene products in Minnesota schools, in Gardner’s view, are worse sins.
“Clearly, [Trump’s] got some issues, and he better ask for forgiveness for some stuff he’s done, but he’s your better option,” Gardner said. “At least he’s Christian-based.”
