Retired Mount Pleasant entrepreneur Jim Blain this year crafted a big paper mache head of President Donald Trump to remind people how he started a war with Iran over oil that seems to have no endgame. Now, he’s taking the head to the streets.
In the months since the war started, South Carolinians have seen gas prices rise more than 60%. Now with the midterm elections approaching, Blain is turning activism, ahem, on its head by sharing photos of the Big Trump Head taken in popular locations around the Lowcountry.
Every day through the election, Blain is offering a new photo of the Big Trump Head taken somewhere in the Charleston area – and exclusively published in the Charleston City Paper’s website as well as on its social media accounts.
“I want people to remember this is costing us every day at the gas pump and in higher taxes as well as in lives and sacrifices,” Blain said.
On Feb. 28 at Trump’s behest and without congressional approval, the United States launched large-scale air attacks with Israel on Iran. At the time, the average price for a barrel of oil was about $65. Now, it’s in the $95 to $100 range per barrel.
Blain said he first got the idea to protest Trump with the Big Trump Head so he could participate in a novel way at area No Kings rallies. He donned the paper mache likeness of the president while wearing the trademark Trump outfit – big blue suit, white shirt and too-long red tie.
And now, he’s at it again. Look for him at a roadside near you.
Here’s where you might have seen the Big Trump Head:
- 9/29/26: Mount Pleasant Municipal Complex (218th day of the war)
- 9/30/26: Charleston, High Battery, East Bay Street (219th)
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