Trump claims 'Front Row Joes' are rich; ex-supporter contradicts

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Trump Misrepresents His Most Loyal Supporters, the ‘Front Row Joes’

Publication date: 2026-07-23

At a rally in Georgia on Wednesday, President Trump singled out a group of his most dedicated supporters, known as the “Front Row Joes,” who consistently attend his speeches and sit in the front row.

“I don’t know what the hell they do, I think they make a lot of money, too. I’m hearing they’re very rich,” Trump said.

However, the reality for these supporters is starkly different, as Trisha Hope, a former Trump supporter and Front Row Joe, explained in a lengthy post on X.

“Trump WRONGLY says to them ‘you’ve made a lot of money, you’re rich,’” Hope wrote. “This shows me how absolutely clueless he is on what these folks have sacrificed in order to support him. They DO NOT MAKE MONEY!! In fact it costs them a GREAT deal of money and time to attend.”

Hope, who said she left the group last year over Trump’s comments about Jeffrey Epstein, added that the Front Row Joes are “incredibly loyal and are deserving of much more than they have been given by Trump.”

• “They drive sometimes all night to get in line [at rallies], they spend money on flights when driving isn’t an option,” Hope’s post continued.
• “They sleep outside the venue sometimes for days often sleeping on pop up cots or just a pallet on the ground.”
• “They rely on whatever facilities they can find to relieve themselves.”

Hope also noted that the founder of the Joes, a Marine veteran named Randall Thom, was killed in a car accident driving home from a Trump rally on October 18, 2020. She said he “never got any recognition from the Trump crew, he had hoped to get a job with the rally team but he could never get them to commit to him.”

“I just couldn’t remain silent when I heard Trump talk as if the Front Row Joe’s are profiting from their rally attendance, it is the exact opposite,” Hope concluded.

These details make Trump’s comments about the group’s wealth appear deeply callous and out of touch. While he praised the Joes, who arrived wearing matching red, white, and blue Trump sports jerseys, he seems to know little about their sacrifices—or care to learn.

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Trump’s Renovation Projects Damage Another National Monument

It appears that President Donald Trump’s sweeping construction projects have damaged yet another national monument.

A fountain in the German-American Friendship Garden on the National Mall is in poor condition after a contractor vehicle drove over it, Newsweek reported Thursday.

Recent photographs captured by photojournalist Andrew Leyden show that the center of the fountain has collapsed into the ground, and the surrounding stones are severely cracked. Repairs are reportedly underway.

Screenshot

This damage comes amid Trump’s broader renovation efforts around Washington, D.C., and it is not the first time federal contractors hired by the administration have damaged a historic landmark.

Just a few hundred yards away, renovations on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have been disastrous. Shortly after construction was completed, large sections of the pool’s new blue lining began to peel off. Experts have suggested the peeling was the result of shoddy application—not shadowy vandals, as administration officials have suggested.

• Trump’s renovations on the Reflecting Pool have already cost taxpayers more than $16 million.
• The iconic monument has been left drained, surrounded by chain-link fences, and placed under strict surveillance.

A short walk away, the $69 million worth of renovations on the Lincoln Memorial Undercroft have also encountered problems. The National Parks Service has struggled with the project.