Photo by Jill Schramm Gale McCray stands at the intersection of Broadway and Burdick Expressway early Thursday evening with his Trump sign.

The old man standing on a busy Minot intersection with a sign taking a poke at President Trump was prepared for a few dirty looks from residents of the second most pro-Trump state in the union. He was hoping for at least a few thumbs up or honks of appreciation, too.

Gale McCray of Fort Worth, Texas, has been making a name for himself on Facebook and in his travels to different cities, where he likes to stand on intersections with what he calls “The Sign.” He made the sign announcing, “Trump, That Boy Dont Act Right,” last February to hold up at an intersection near his home, and the encouragement of friends led him to other cities.

Standing at a busy Bismarck intersection Wednesday, McCray said he marked a new record for the number of middle finger salutes with 13, exceeding the previous record of nine set in Nashville. People can find this information and other updates on Facebook or Twitter at Old Man With a Sign. McCray also sells T-shirts and buttons.

“I am a liberal, a progressive, whatever you want to call it. But to say I am politically active would be pushing it,” McCray said. However, added, “To me, Trump is different. This is not a regular politician.”

Friends helped him start a Facebook page and gain media attention, which included an interview with a broadcaster in New Zealand. Supporters suggested he go to Washington, D.C., and helped him open a Go Fund Me account. The account raised $2,000 in 18 days, funding a trip to the national capital last June, with stops at intersections in cities along the way.

McCray stresses he’s not a transient standing on street corners every day. He’s just a regular retiree who’s having fun when he’s traveling about.

“I go where people ask me to go,” McCray said. He was visiting in Minnesota when he was encouraged to connect with some folks in Moorhead who directed him to go visit some other folks in Bismarck. Sentiment in Bismarck among people who responded to his sign ran about two-thirds pro-Trump and one-third anti-Trump, he said. That tracks fairly closely to a Gallup poll showing Trump has 59 percent support in the state, which lags only West Virginia’s 60 percent.

McCray said the name-calling in Bismarck exceeded what he’s experienced in most places, but the greatest opposition he’s received was in Paris, Texas, one of the smallest towns he’s visited.

He said he does what he does because he wants to show that people with his sentiments are out there.

“The sign is non-threatening. It’s almost humorous,” he said. “If I think I am going to change people by holding a sign, that’s grandiose as hell. But I have seen people – their faces light up when they see (other) people standing up.”