Meet the MAGA megafans

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

If you want to see how Donald Trump has changed his party, look at what attendees wore to this week’s convention in Milwaukee. Gone are the days when Republicans plumped for preppy blazers and demure khakis; now the fashion is for ostentatious displays of red, white and blue. Even the red ‘MAGA’ baseball caps of 2016 have been eclipsed, replaced by this year’s must-have accessory of the cowboy hat – a classic symbol of rugged individualism. It’s a sartorial revolution, as well as a political one.

‘Everyone loves having their photo taken,’ says one press photographer. ‘It’s like Halloween’

Brash, flash and full of flair, Trump’s supporters wear their politics with pride, exhibiting broad smiles, garish garbs and a veritable blizzard of rhinestones. ‘I’m takin’ it all in like a sponge,’ drawls a beaming Texas delegate in a pair of tight Trump leggings. Blake Marnell, a moustachioed Californian known as ‘Brick Man’ for his border wall suit, cheerfully poses for endless selfies while explaining how Trump’s second term could see him ‘free to pursue the things that are correct without fear of moderating his policies’. ‘Everyone loves having their photo taken,’ marvels a Danish press photographer, snapping away. ‘It’s like Halloween.’

The obvious enthusiasm jars with the existential framing of November’s election. ‘We’re in such a perilous time where the country can be lost any minute,’ sighs Sharon Andersen from Tennessee from beneath a homemade hat featuring donkey ears and the words ‘Trump kicks ass’ scrawled across it. ‘We’ll lose it. We’re already at the edge of losing it now.’ Nearby, the conservative influencer Charlie Kirk is urging attendees to ‘vote early’ – an effortless switch from his past claims that the electoral system is rigged.