Seven years ago this week, a Trump supporter in a brick-patterned suit was plucked from the crowd at a Pennsylvania campaign event and thrust into the MAGA spotlight. Blake Marnell, soon immortalised as the ‘Brick Suit Guy’, became perhaps the most recognisable face on the Trump trail.
The Rise of a Political Phenomenon
After turning up at rally after rally in his border wall-themed outfit, it wasn’t long before one of the President’s most loyal backers turned into a political phenomenon in his own right. But what happened to the man inside the idiosyncratic matching jacket and trousers? In this week’s Daily Mail DC Insider newsletter, we talk to Marnell to find out how his life changed after that unforgettable moment on stage.
The Costume and Its Origins
We discover where he got the costume, what it cost, how many he has, and why the story of Brick Suit Guy did not end in late May 2019. He tells us how the attire became his political calling card, why he keeps what he describes as a ‘Designated Survivor’ suit in reserve, and how one split-second decision changed the course of his life.
Surviving the Butler Rally
Marnell also opens up about being in the front row at Butler when gunfire rang out at Trump’s rally, and why he’s furious that footage from that day has since been used to fuel online conspiracy theories. DC Insider is the Daily Mail’s sharp, witty and well-connected guide to the people, plots and power plays shaping Washington. Delivered to your inbox every Thursday afternoon, it brings you exclusive reporting, juicy gossip, behind-the-scenes colour and the stories everyone in politics is really talking about.
To read the full exclusive interview and find out where Brick Suit Guy is now, sign up for this week’s DC Insider newsletter. President Donald Trump calls up Blake Marnell, wearing a jacket with bricks representing a border wall, to the stage during a Make America Great Again campaign rally at Williamsport Regional Airport, May 20, 2019 in Montoursville, Pennsylvania.
