BILLINGS – One day after President Trump’s speech came an unlikely star. A Billings teenager is now being referred to all over the internet as ‘Plaid Shirt Guy’.
His facial expressions and reactions to the president’s speech are going viral and even celebrities tweeted about him.
#plaidshirtguy pic.twitter.com/ZtMeHHSbiN
— Zach Braff (@zachbraff) September 7, 2018
Tyler Linfesty, is a student at Billings West and was chosen to sit in the VIP section of the rally behind Trump.
During the course of the speech, Linfesty was caught on camera responding to Trump’s words.
Images caught the teen appearing surprised or amused during the speech and even at one point he mouths “have you?” after the president said he’s picking up support for his team.
Linfesty’s time in the spotlight though was short-lived. He was eventually asked to leave the rally and replaced with a woman who appeared to be with the Trump campaign to stand in his place.
Tyler Linfesty, a Billings teen dubbed “Plaid Shirt Guy” is asked leave a Trump rally
Reporting by Andrea Lutz for MTN News
BILLINGS- Tyler Linfesty didn’t expect to become an Internet meme after he was selected for a plum spot directly behind President Trump at his Thursday rally in Billings.
The 17-year-old Billings West senior spoke to MTN News Friday about his whirlwind last 24 hours, which included appearances on CNN, MSNBC and social media fame as #plaidshirtguy .
Linfesty said his now famous reactions to the president’s speech were honest but unintentional. Halfway through, he was escorted away from spot and replaced with a woman who was apparently a Trump campaign staffer.
Before that, however, Linfesty got his picture taken with Trump (though he hasn’t yet received a print) and he had hoped to get the president to sign a book. It was a copy of “The Communist Manifesto” wrapped in the jacket of Trump’s “Art of the Deal,” which Linfesty thought would be funny. (He stressed he’s not a communist or socialist.)
After graduation, Linfesty, who came to MTN’s Billings station with his parents, Jessica and Ron, said he plans to attend college and study physics.
