Balanced rakishly on my late grandmother’s china parrot is a MAGA hat bought in 2016 when it seemed highly improbable that Trump would beat the walking pantsuit, Hillary. Much like my Vote Leave badge, I bought it as a piece of provocative fast-fashion and my ever-expanding archive of political merchandise from the last decade. I also own a ‘Forward’ Obama cap from his 2012 campaign, purchased when I lived in the States, but it didn’t make the parrot.
The MAGA hat’s genius lies in its simplicity: it does exactly what it says on the brim
Fast forward eight years and Granny’s parrot is still a cap-wearing Trump supporter. Over the years, it has elicited various responses from house guests; some laugh and ask to put it on, some notice but look pointedly away, and some (mostly children) just plonk it on their heads and run off. Now Trump is seeking a second term, it is staying firmly put.
Not all political merchandise can boast the stupendous success of the MAGA hat. As a piece of political branding, its genius lies in its simplicity: it does exactly what it says on the brim. Which is what, exactly? Does it mark the wearer out as a racist bigot? That’s what actress Alyssa Milano thought when she likened the hat to this generation’s white Klan hood in 2019. Or does it showcase Trump’s canny, entrepreneurial power to distil his brand into one simple message, available for all?
It’s hard to think of a campaign message that either Clinton or Biden have put out in the last decade that can match it in terms of political comms, which is often lost in the white noise of 24/7 social media. It’s even harder to think of a political candidate that wears his own merch. Would Starmer have worn a cap that said Change? I find it hard to believe, requiring, as it does, a level of either irony or unchecked self-belief that he doesn’t seem to be able to muster.
Recently, Team Harris has launched its own campaign baseball cap in what one must imagine is a direct rebuttal to the MAGA. Decked out in ‘Realtree Camo’ with Harris and Walz emblazoned upon it in orange lettering, the cap has been hailed by the liberal media as a masterstroke. Combining the midwestern hunter style beloved of Walz with its ironic take-up by Gen Z and queer audiences, it is also a nod to American singer-songwriter Chappell Roan’s almost identical version that read ‘Midwest Princess’ in bright orange letters. The hat sold out within an hour to the tune of $1 million.
And what, might you ask, do we do for political merch in this country? Back in 2023, the Conservative party was selling Sir Keir Starmer flip-flops for £16.99 a pair while pre-election, Labour was selling a ‘Totes not Tories’ canvas bag. Thanks to Ed Davey’s ability to think laterally, the Lib Dems had far more merch than either party, including bum bags, courier bags, and beanies. Clearly, we don’t do it quite like they do Stateside. Not one item of British political merch that I looked at had anything like the powerful reductive appeal of the MAGA hat or the fashion-forward status of the Harris-Walz camo trucker version.
I wonder if this might be because there is simply no unisex fashion accessory that might realistically be taken up by a vast majority of the British population: umbrellas, as I can attest, are too likely to be lost, while socks, completely necessary in our inclement climes, are obscured by trousers. All that’s left is scarves, but these too present problems, connoting at once Oxbridge colleges and a kind of effete look that I can’t imagine Angela Rayner taking up. That said, someone recently reported to me that they saw a man wearing a MAGA hat in Clacton and I, myself, spotted one in Witney Sainsbury’s but I can’t vouch for their ironic take-up of it. While I wait for better political merchandise this side of the pond, I shall enjoy my MAGA parrot all the more.
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