Despite the threats from firm-bodied and close-minded elitist liberals who threatened to boycott Soul Cycle and Equinox health clubs upon learning that a major investor, Steven Ross, planned to host a fundraiser for President Donald J. Trump (R) at his estate last Friday night, the event went off as planned.  Along with another funder that night, Trump reportedly hauled in over $12 million for his 2020 presidential campaign and for the Republican Party. 

However, many of the folks that these bleeding-heart, tight-butt Trump boycott liberals claim to speak for — workers and small business–owners — are forced to remain silent if they support Trump.  If it were known that they agreed with Trump, they would either lose their jobs or low-margin businesses to a liberal boycott, and unlike the wealthy Ross, who can easily ride through a small boycott, they would suffer, according to the New York Post.

"We are all in the closet," said a boutique owner in Southampton who fears reprisals from his customers — most of them moneyed Democrats — if he speaks openly about his allegiance to Trump. "It's like you have this disease and people want to run away from you."

A builder based in Westhampton worried that his customers would boycott his services if he reveals his support of the president. "People have really strong opinions here and if you go around wearing a MAGA hat, you really need to fear physical violence," he said, adding the anti-Trump aggression comes mostly from summer residents. (snip)

Despite the recent shift, many of Trump's core supporters fear speaking out, especially during the summer months, when beachfront villages from Westhampton to Montauk are filled with left-leaning visitors from New York City.

"They're all Democrats, so for us it's a matter of survival," said an art consultant who works in Sag Harbor. "We live in the land of the First Amendment, but if you want to stay in business out here, you have to keep your opinions to yourself. We are hitting a very dark and strange place as a country."

The middle-class business-owner then summed up how to deal with wealthy liberals: lie.  Don't utter your truthful opinion to the hand that feeds you — and your family — but gratefully lick it with a satisfying falsehood.

If you want to stay in business, you have to learn to lie to people. You have to say stuff like, 'I hate his hairdo.' I'm just struggling to make the bottom line here. Honestly, I am not rich enough to have a political opinion.

Hopefully, in the privacy of the voting booth, these Trump fans forced to do business with wealthy boycott-loving liberals will exercise their right to a political opinion and vote for their favored candidate without fear of repercussions.