Plains resident uses mini-truck to amplify his political views

The older model Daihatsu pickup is hard to miss as it glides along the streets of Plains.

And that is pretty much intentional.

At the wheel of the white truck is Army Veteran Warren Wickum, a soft-spoken, easy going kind of guy with a passion for America.

And he wants others to know how he feels, as evident by the variety of signs, banners and flags that have decorated the outside of his mini-truck for the past several years.

“I’ve always been conservative and pro-American,” Wickum said. “I love this country and want people to know that”.

Wickum’s signs are generally met with honks of approval from those who pass by or stop to shake his hand. But not always.

“Overwhelmingly, people express approval of the signs and what I’m saying,” he said. “I get a lot of people, including tourists from Washington and Oregon, pulling over and saying they agree. Every now and then I get the middle finger, and it’s usually from a handful of local residents who don’t agree. I always try to talk with those who disagree but they usually don’t want to hear what I have to say”.

Wickum’s latest sign of protest says “Biden is a stupid SOB”, a reference he said to the President referring to a conservative TV news reporter at the end of a recent Q&A session. His signs are almost always bold in their message.

“Everyone has and is entitled to their opinion,” he said. “I believe that this country is headed in the wrong direction and more people need to stand up and speak out about what has been happening lately. I think more people need to open their eyes to what Biden and his administration have done and continue to do to this country”.

A former member of the 82nd Airborne Division who worked most of his life as a building contractor, Wickum has no qualms or regrets about expressing his feelings while at the wheel of his Daihatsu.

He sometimes hands out copies of the U.S. Constitution, including a pamphlet from 1962 that outlines the Constitution and what it says and doesn’t say.

“There are a lot of people who talk about the Constitution who have never read it,” Wickum said. “They don’t teach much of this in schools these days. I want to do my part to change that if I can”.

And, he said, if enough people “wake up” to what is happening, the country will begin getting back on track during the 2022 mid-term elections this November.

“You look at what happened on Day One of the Biden administration,” he said. “With a stroke of the pen he took us from energy independence to $5 at the gas pump. That has pushed up the price of everything and it’s his fault, not Putin’s (Vladimir Putin)”.

Wickum said he grew up in a conservative home and nothing has changed to deter his right-leaning opinions.

“I’ve always been a conservative,” he said. “I grew up in a conservative household. One of the good things about being a conservative is we tend to speak our minds without yelling and screaming then walking away without hearing what the other guy said”.

And he says he will always be a supporter of President Trump.

“You look at the way he was and yeah he was a little rough around the edges,” Wickum said. “But he got things done like he said he would and the country was better off than it is now”.

And getting that thought across, he said, is one of the reasons why he cruises around in his political statement of a vehicle, proudly returning thumbs up to supporters and shaking his head at those who brandish the middle finger.