Viral "Plaid Shirt Guy" Who Mocked Trump at His Rally Is Making Rounds Again
"All of those reactions were my genuine reactions," he said.
Published July 22 2024, 10:54 a.m. ET
Since the dawn of the internet, politics have been inherently rife with meme-able content. If something happens to any major politician, you can bet your bottom dollar that folks on social media will be making memes about it — including Biden's unprecedented decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.
Back in 2018, a Trump rally in Montana became the birthplace of a new political meme: Plaid Shirt Guy. And now, as the 2024 election creeps closer and Trump continues his campaign as the official Republican nominee, the meme has made its way back to the forefront of the internet.
If you're not familiar with Plaid Shirt Guy and his iconic facial expressions, here's an explainer.
Plaid Shirt Guy became a political meme overnight.
In 2018, high school senior Tyler Linfesty decided to sign up to attend a Trump rally happening in Montana, bringing a few close friends along with him. What he didn't know, of course, is that his behavior and facial expressions at said rally would end up getting him kicked out — and turning him into a political meme that would still be going strong six years later.
Tyler and his friends were randomly selected to sit behind Trump during the rally, giving the group a prime view of the president while also giving spectators a prime view of Tyler. Throughout the speech, Tyler's candid reactions to Trump's claims, from eye-rolling to smirking to downright laughing, were impossible to ignore.
In an interview with CNN following the incident, Tyler explained that, though he is a Democratic Socialist and decidedly not a Trump supporter, he was not in any way trying to "protest."
"All of those reactions were my genuine reactions," he said. "I would've made those faces if anyone were to say that to me ... I've always wondered myself, 'Are those people [sitting behind Trump at his rallies] being genuine?' So, when I got back there, I knew that I was going to be genuine."
Midway through the rally, it seemed as though Trump's campaign team had had enough of Tyler's genuine reactions; they actually sent over a new set of "supporters" to replace him and his friend group. Though they didn't offer a direct explanation, Tyler told CNN that he knew exactly why.
"Before the rally, they told us that, you know, 'You have to be enthusiastic, you have to be clapping. You have to be cheering for Donald Trump.' And I wasn't doing that because, you know, I wasn't enthusiastic. I wasn't happy with what he was saying," Tyler explained.
