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At a rally in Montana last week, the crowd applauded President Trump in delivering a free speech on the economy, his 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton and his success as "your favorite of all." the temperature".
Online, the cheers were for a teenager in a plaid shirt.
The teenager, who was standing behind the president in the camera view, could be seen raising his eyebrows, wincing and shaking his head during much of the event, at Billings, Mt. At one point, he widened his eyes and uttered a word of confusion: "What?
Finally, a woman approached him, made a gesture for his exit and replaced him in the crowd.
It has attracted a lot of attention and on social media has become known as Plaid Shirt Guy.
As his online character took off, the questions also evolved: who was he? What was he doing there? And how, of all people, did he manage to obtain such good places?
Who is Plaid Shirt Guy?
Internet, meet Tyler Linfesty.
He is a 17-year-old high school student at Billings West High School. Although he recognizes himself as a social democrat, he said he did not want to miss the chance to see a speech by the US president. So he and some friends signed up to attend The rally of Mr. Trump on Thursday.
That morning, Mr. Linfesty said, he received an email saying that he had been selected for VIP status, which means that he could meet the president and have access to prominent seats . He stated that he had not asked for the status and that he believed he had been chosen by chance.
He took a brief photo with the president before the rally and asked the organizers if he and his friends could sit behind the stage. In fact, their seats could not have been bigger.
"I think it was fundamentally random that we were placed right behind him and on TV," Linfesty said Saturday.
Linfesty said the organizers had asked the crowd to cheer and cheer, but he said he could not bring himself to applaud for things he did not agree with. He said that he did not know that he was so visible that friends sent him a text message in the middle of the speech.
"It was not me who was trying to protest," said Mr Linfesty. "It was just my honest reactions to the things he said."
At one point in the speech, he put a pin showing his support for America's Social Democratic Democrats. Finally, a woman slipped into the alley and whispered something to her. He left and she replaced him in the crowd: a new face, now smiling pleasantly in the background.
Shortly after, his friends were also replaced.
Behind the scenes, Linfesty said he was sidelined while police and secret service agents checked his identity. After about 10 minutes, he said, "They told me respectfully to leave and not come back."
How to sit in front of a rally
Mr. Trump's campaign did not respond to requests for comments on Mr. Linfesty's removal.
In general, no one can support political candidates at rallies, campaign experts said. This area is tightly controlled and often reserved for personalities, local politicians and campaign volunteers. Sometimes campaigns can invite members of the community to convey a sense of local authenticity.
"The question is: what do you want people to think when they look at the photo?" Said Jennifer Cunningham of SKDKnickerbocker, a political consulting firm that has worked on presidential campaigns.
Most people do not need encouragement to behave appropriately, but to avoid slippage, campaigns are usually aimed at people close to the president and explain to them how to avoid being a distraction.
"For a presidential campaign to fail to do a superficial review – the guy was wearing a sticker of America's Social Democrats, for the sake of heaven – is unprecedented," said Ms. Cunningham, whose the cabinet works with the democratic campaigns. "The rule is that you check everything and everyone so that there are no surprises."
Mr. Linfesty said that his parents had been informed that a background check had been conducted before his seat was offered, but it was unclear exactly what that meant or if Mr. Trump's campaign was conscious. of his political opinions.
For those who do not have access, there is another way to be at the center of a rally: to run early.
The first people online can often catch front row seats facing the podium. Although these seats may not be visible during the president's speech, Mr. Trump's super fans have been successful with this strategy: called on stage at one rally, and another said that he had managed to sneak into the camera area, where he positioned himself behind the president.
As for Mr. Linfesty, he did what any teenager would do in a moment of online fame: he changed his Twitter profile picture to show his now famous brow lift. He will turn 18 next month and plans to vote for the first time in November.
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