Jacob Ogles
Half political statement, half fashion choice, “Make America Great Again” has become much more than a campaign slogan. The red caps adorning the heads of Donald Trump supporters to rallies have become the signature of a movement.
But want a cap with festive Christmas lights? Drop $55 at the official campaign store and it’s yours. Maybe a Christmas ornament to celebrate the GOP incumbent? There’s one available that’s finished in 24k gold.
And they also remain a major business endeavor. Listed as a campaign expense, the caps sold at tents in parking lots before rallies or roadside 12 months a year have become a major enterprise all themselves, as reported by outlets like Quartz.
The news site reports Louisiana-based Ace Specialties on track to sell millions in MAGA merchandise in 2018, based on public reports filed to the Federal Elections Commission.
More than $902,074 was spent by Trump’s presidential campaign in the first nine months in 2018 alone.
And the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint effort between the presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee, spent another $1.4 million on the products.
The hat, of course, remains the most prominent signature of the campaign. But the constant interest in goods shows how the MAGA brand has grown to mean much more than a signal who someone plans to vote for anytime soon.
Trump’s campaign stops in Florida a week before Election Day to help Sen.-elect Rick Scott and Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis win their new jobs became must-attend events for Sunshine State Republicans, but they also got billed as MAGA rallies, further emblazing the brand onto not just Trump’s re-election ambitions but the hops of his entire political party.
It’s no shock Ace Specialties CEO Christl Mahfouz has become such a vocal champion of Trump, whose candidacy has helped to generate more than $21 million in payments to her company from political entities alone.
But it’s also a sign that the slogan-as-brand has helped insert itself in people’s lifestyle and personal identity in ways the Obama ‘O” logo could only dream. And it shows the financial stake retailers outside the political world now has in these little red hats.
