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---
title: Plaid Shirt Guy Who Zina Bash Replaced at Trump Rally Is Viral
description: The plaid shirt guy trolled President Donald Trump on live tv before Zina Bash could replace him.
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author: Ashley Hoffman
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article:published_time: 2018-09-07T16:39:51.000Z
article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T17:44:35.000Z
og:title: Plaid Shirt Guy Trolled Trump on Live TV
og:description: The internet caught him right behind the President making some expressive faces
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twitter:title: Plaid Shirt Guy Trolled Trump on Live TV
twitter:description: The internet caught him right behind the President making some expressive faces
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![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71f0cc4fe4b67812/698939b3db298724a92609d5/trumprallyplaidshirtguy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# 'Plaid Shirt Guy' Trolled Trump on Live TV By Making Very Animated Faces

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| Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
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| Metric | Value | Source |
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by 

[Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/)


## Ashley Hoffman


Updated: Dec 12, 2023 5:44 PM UTCPublished: Sep 7, 2018 4:39 PM UTC

![Plaid shirt guy trolls Trump on live TV](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71f0cc4fe4b67812/698939b3db298724a92609d5/trumprallyplaidshirtguy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

US President Donald Trump waves to the crowd during a "Make America Great Again" rally in Billings, Montana on September 6, 2018\. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump waves to the crowd during a "Make America Great Again" rally in Billings, Montana on September 6, 2018\. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images) NICHOLAS KAMM—AFP/Getty Images

by 

[Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/)


## Ashley Hoffman


Updated: Dec 12, 2023 5:44 PM UTCPublished: Sep 7, 2018 4:39 PM UTC

One of the attendees at Donald Trump’s rally in Montana turned himself into a meme.

While all ears were on the President’s remarks about everything from the [anonymous New York _Times_ op-ed](http://time.com/5389879/colbert-anonymous-oped/) to [praise for Brett Kavanaugh’s](http://time.com/53897/trump-montana-rally-kavanaugh-progress/) confirmation hearing, eyes drifted to a man the internet dubbed “plaid shirt guy” who stood positioned right behind Trump’s shoulder.

For the first part of his speech, plaid shirt guy made animated facial expressions which ranged from bewilderment to skepticism.

He wasn’t there the whole time. The man was removed in the middle of Trump’s speech, and another attendee took his place. But he was there long enough to generate a number of screencaps and GIFs.

Despite the fact that it’s impossible to know exactly what he was wordlessly communicating, people drew the conclusion that he did not look impressed.

See some of the reactions to plaid shirt guy below.

> [](https://twitter.com/choibboy/status/1037947300381908992)

> [](https://twitter.com/jamesallen/status/1037886064105545733)


> [](https://twitter.com/IamKatieMoe/status/1037961894005432320)

> [](https://twitter.com/IamKatieMoe/status/1038007855096332288)

> [](https://twitter.com/Squanch%5FMe/status/1037889627225501696)


> [](https://twitter.com/ianbremmer/status/1038050762981613569)

> [](https://twitter.com/IamKatieMoe/status/1037961894005432320)

> [](https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1038033158615261184)

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