What the MAGA Hat Symbolizes Today
The political climate in America has been tumultuous. A major storm has reigned down on Americans, complete with thunder, lightning, and gusts strong enough to cause a hurricane of change. It’s easier to see where this path of revolution is heading now, but it wasn’t always this evident. The fog surrounding how events truly occurred compared to how events were portrayed is dissipating, but for a while it seemed as though Americans were stumbling around in the shadow of night. The morning seems to be on its way, with several acts done in the dark coming to light; recurring questions are finally garnering newfound answers.
To fully grasp the palpable changes arising today, we must look back a decade to 2015. The year of ‘Deflategate’. The year ‘the dress’ sparked a meaningless debate as to what the true color was, gold and white or blue and black? The year Bruce Jenner announced his new identity on the cover of Vanity Fair titled “Call Me Caitlyn.”
It was also the year Donald Trump solidified his appeal to Republicans across the nation. Jeb Bush, an early favorite, quickly fell prey to Trump’s unorthodox no-nonsense, semi-apolitical stance. Trump’s absence from Washington DC proved to be the perfect prerequisite for the primaries, a glowing choice among Americans tired of traditional politicians’ games. The businessman turned game show host jumped up the ratings one debate, one harsh truth bomb at a time.
The media and its talking heads, who at one time largely embraced Donald Trump, spent the better part of 2015 and 2016 searching for reasons why the public should never take him seriously. Articles such as “Donald Trump apparently won the Latino vote in Nevada. It doesn’t mean Latinos suddenly love him.” (Janell Ross, The Washington Post, 2016) or “The chilling story of how Trump took hate groups mainstream” (Sarah Posner, Mother Jones, 2016) began to surface. The negative stories poured from television sets, internet news, radio shows, and through social media; it seemed there was no escaping the deep-rooted intention of denigrating Trump’s name.
According to a Pew Research study (2017) comparing media coverage of the first 60 days Trump’s Presidency to Obama, Bush, and Clinton, Trump’s was overwhelmingly negative at 62%. Compare that to Obama’s negative coverage (20%), Bush’s (28%), and Clinton’s (28%) and it’s easy to establish a clear political bias.
Also, the media content shifted from policy to more character based with Donald Trump’s policies only being covered 31% of the time, while Obama’s were covered 50%, Bush’s were covered 65%, and Clinton’s policies were covered 58% of the time. Shifting the focus from policies to character assassination seems the obvious way to discredit a President set on making positive differences through policy.
Music artists YG and Nipsey Hussle made a song titled “Fuck Donald Trump” which August Brown of the Los Angeles Times dubbed the “most prophetic, wrathful and unifying protest song of 2016.” Kate Walsh tweeted, "This is a national disaster. An illiterate, bigoted, misogynistic, racist, rapist has become president. I have no words."
No one can forget when Kathy Griffin proudly displayed a fake bloody Donald Trump head in 2017 and when wealthy performer Chris Brown tweeted, “F*** TRUMP AND F*** THE PIGS! TO SEE THIS EVIL SHIT IS SO WRONG! GOD WILL HAVE HIS REVENGE! WHO THE F*** U THINK CLEANS YOUR HOTELS AND WORKS HARD TO FEED A WHOLE FAMILY. US!”
As a result of the one-sided news and the wealthy Hollywood establishment, the name “Donald Trump” became, and in some social groups still is, synonymous with considerable controversy and salacious scandal. Before the President entered the oval office, rumors inundated the airwaves with the now debunked Russian Collusion story. Millions of Americans sat in front of their televisions night after night and watched the repeated lie political hacks like Adam Schiff insisted, that Trump worked with Russia to get him elected. "I don't want to go into specifics, but I will say that there is evidence that is not circumstantial. But as I've said all along, there's plenty of evidence of collusion," Schiff lamented in 2017.
It was all bogus, but that didn’t stop the news from reporting it and Hollywood from repeating it.
The Russian Collusion hoax caused not only Democrats, but some Republicans as well, to question Trump and his motives for office. This blatant lie amplified by the news made it taboo to wear a red hat in public because it meant support for a man likened to a hateful dictator, according to the mainstream media. Left leaning reporters came after Trump, but perhaps more alarming, they came after Trump’s supporters. As a result, and again in tandem with the media, Hollywood icons found it easy to discriminate and even call for violence against “MAGA” Americans and their children.
In a time of crisis, where unity would have meant strength, it seems every single iota that makes Americans different was utilized to further push division and animosity with those we love.
In January 2019, Jack Morrissey, a film producer for Disney, tweeted out a photo from “Fargo” with blood being shot out of a woodchipper, with the caption: “#MAGAkids go screaming, hats first, into the woodchipper.” In 2021, after the vaccines were released and Anthony Fauci unleashed his “do it for your neighbors” guilt on those who chose not to get the experimental jab, it was not uncommon to see videos all over social media accounts of liberals stating they would not care if the unvaccinated (largely conservatives) died. Wishing death upon a political adversary -- even in jest -- does not seem American at all, yet that is what was allowed, and in some cases celebrated, in the name of social justice, science, and “inclusion.”
In a time of crisis, where unity would have meant strength, it seems every single iota making Americans different was utilized to further push division and animosity with those we love. It was black vs. white, women vs. men, Republican vs. Democrat, vaxxed vs. unvaxxed, “Follow the Science” vs. following actual whistleblower testimony from doctors sounding the alarms on what they were seeing firsthand.
The division has done a number on our nation and our closest relationships. As more truth is revealed, Americans are beginning to see things with 2020 vision. That is, they are starting to understand what the real motive was for the witch hunts and meaningless probes into Trump’s life. They did their best to demonize the man and anyone associated with him, and for a while, they were successful.
They created a double standard so strong, it dictated what Americans felt comfortable wearing. An app was created to help conservatives know where and if it was “safe” to wear a MAGA hat in public. In particular, the Red MAGA Hats looked similar to certain pro sports teams’ hats, and depending on what side of the aisle the fan was on, it would either encourage or discourage the person from wearing it. In a business meeting in 2021, I overheard colleagues discussing a red baseball hat and one said to the other, “Oh I better get rid of that hat, don’t want anyone to think I’m MAGA!” They did this in public, with many able to overhear, and they chuckled delightedly at their dig.
Yet most conservatives did not care if someone wanted to wear a Biden/Harris hat or sport a Biden/Harris bumper sticker on their Subaru. That is, after all, their right. The same can’t be said for folks on the left when it comes to Trump supporters, especially early on in his presidency.
The New York Times wrote in November 2020, “The MAGA hat of the future would be a symbol of a lost cause; a hope, or a threat, that a movement might rise again,” and alleged the popularity of the hats after the 2020 election existed because of Trump’s refusal to concede. Had the president conceded, therefore, the red hats would have been discarded like the any other ‘out of style’ article of clothing.
But the article got it wrong. Trump supporters did not continue wearing the red hats just because Trump refused to concede; many would have continued doing so regardless. The reason Americans continue to wear the red hats, or any MAGA hat, is because the movement has transcended beyond Donald Trump. The MAGA movement, though clearly originated by Trump, is about making the country they love great again. It just happens to appear that Americans who wear these red hats feel Donald Trump is the best man for the job.
The issue is much bigger than two political parties or adversaries selling hats; this is about the suppression and manipulation of ideologies in the next generation when it comes right down to it.
I was in DC in 2023, and as an outsider, I paid close attention to memorabilia outside the White House and other national landmarks and statues. What I noticed was quite shocking really: there were no pro-Biden hats, only #FJB shirts and other anti-Biden wear. Make America Great Again shirts, sweatshirts, and hats were presented to the public, and if anyone wanted to show their support for Joseph R. Biden, I certainly didn’t see any options.
At an event I attended later that day, I found myself in conversation from a self-proclaimed “non-Trumper.” After I mentioned to him the lack of clothing options when it came to Biden, he shared a story with me. He said he had his young nephew into town prior to the 2020 election, and his nephew who was about 11 or 12 at the time, wanted to buy a red “Make American Great Again” hat and wear it around the city.
Begrudgingly, he agreed to buy the hat for his nephew but admitted he felt embarrassed to be seen with his nephew wearing it around DC. Later in the day while they were at lunch, his nephew -- with the hat still on -- looked up to him and innocently asked, “Would you like me to take off the hat?”
the next generation is growing up at a time in history where they will learn from experience, and there is no better instructor.
The so called “non-Trumper” uncle said the question hit him hard. Here he had his nephew with him who was showing an interest in politics, exploring the capital city of the United States of America, and the boy felt he had to take off his hat due to the embarrassment he sensed he was causing his uncle. I jumped in and commended him for noticing; not too many “non-Trump” people are able to recognize the double standards these days. The truth is, the issue is much bigger than two political parties or adversaries selling hats; this is about the suppression and manipulation of ideologies in our generation and more importantly, the next generation.
But the next voter pool is growing up at a time in history where they have learned from experience, and there is no better instructor. When COVID took away dances, sporting events, sleepovers and potentially family get-togethers with family not politically aligned with them, they learned quickly what the government mixed with fear can accomplish in a very short amount of time. When they saw one party preach anti-dictatorship while dictating what and how each American should think, they took note. They will not forget this moment in time. They learned how to watch actions instead of listening to empty promises.
While touring the memorials and other monuments, I encountered several school groups in attendance. Several red hats and other MAGA hats were positioned on the tops of their heads, on both genders and on all races. The next generation, though young and impressionable, are not afraid to express their support for a movement that showed us how to love our country again. Through these young men and women, there is hope for a pro-America future.
Last week I saw a Tik Tok video of a gentleman wearing a red MAGA hat to Disney. Shockingly, he did not get attacked, nor did he get yelled at. Instead, he got fist pumps, head nods, and smiles. I feel this is a great anecdotal way to gauge the current climate, and the forecast is sunny.
Trump’s whirlwind of Executive Orders and DOGE’s findings have been met with support from the majority of Americans, something I feel would not have happened in his first term even among conservatives. American has woken up from its ignorance to government corruption and they want fast action taken to correct it. Trump is delivering exactly what he promised, it just took a little longer than we expected.
Americans everywhere, whether they wear the red hat or not, support the policies that would essentially do what MAGA stands for. The red is like a siren, a call to action if you will, to get involved locally and to quit being a spectator to our own government. To truly make America great again, it will take a movement of local action. We’ve seen glimpses of American greatness, but perhaps this movement will be the revolution necessary to make American greatness our reality.
