POCATELLO — Sam Laoboonmi, owner of Sam’s Gun Shop in Pocatello, recently met the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., and had a conversation with him about why his father ran for president.

On Jan. 23, Laoboonmi was at the SHOT Show — an annual trade show for shooting, hunting and the firearms industries held in Las Vegas — when he decided to visit the people at the Freedom Arms booth because he knew them well.

He said that he had grown tired by this point, but developed newfound energy once he saw Secret Service agents protecting Donald Trump Jr.

“Suddenly I see lots of Secret Service come around and then I saw Mr. Trump Jr. come to the booth,” Laoboonmi said.

Trump Jr. had come to the Freedom Arms booth specifically to purchase their firearms. Laoboonmi couldn’t speak to what kind of guns or how many Trump Jr. had bought.

Laoboonmi then had the opportunity to have a conversation with Trump Jr. and talked to him about the president and why he ran for office.

Laoboonmi’s main inquiry to Trump Jr. was what his father’s motivations were for running for president because, in his opinion, it doesn’t seem like it would be a good job to have.

“I asked him about how come your dad has lots of money and ran for president, because it’s not a good job,” Laoboonmi said. “You know, he has lots of money and can buy anything he wants to in this world.”

After Trump Jr. had mulled the question over, Laoboonmi says, “He replied to me, he’s a fighter, he loves this country, he wants to see this country move in the right direction.”

Laoboonmi was impressed with his response.

“I told him he’s done a great job, I love him, and if there’s anything I can do to help him do the job I will, but I’m a small tiny nobody,” he said.

According to Laoboonmi, Trump Jr. responded, “No, we need people like you.”

Laoboonmi then asked if there was any possibility that Trump Jr. would someday run for president.

“Then we talked about after the eight-year term would you like to run for president and he said, ‘No, too much headache for me,’” Laoboonmi recounted.

Laoboonmi then had the opportunity to get his picture taken with Trump Jr.

“I was really surprised when I saw him, he really likes guns,” Laoboonmi said. “You know, he’s a good hunter. Like I said, he’s one of the best guys I’ve ever met.”