It’s the iconic symbol of the current president. The red MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN hat WITH 45 and 47 on the side to indicate what number president he is. He first wore it on a trip to the Mexican border in July, 2015. It was blue. Trump started wearing it while campaigning in the 2016. He wore it constantly, outdoors, indoors, getting on his plane. It became a symbol. It was one of the ways Trump wanted to break tradition. Look, I’m just like you and can wear a baseball cap like a teenager, a vet, a farmer, and one showing my favorite team. I have not seen him wear it backwards yet. This hat is a huge break from presidential tradition.
The most recognizable presidential hat was Lincoln’s stovepipe top hat where he used to keep important papers when traveling. In years past, hats were popular with men in general. If you look at a crowd shot at a baseball game in the thirties, forties, and fifties almost every man was wearing a hat. Presidents would wear top hats to their inauguration. Eisenhower broke tradition when he wore a homburg. But presidential hats really died when Kennedy gave his famous inaugural address in bitter cold with no hat. There are stories that hat sales dropped because of Kennedy’s new style.
Hats have carried great risks for presidents. Barack Obama said, “Here’s the general rule: You don’t put stuff on you head if you’re president. That’s politics 101. You never look good wearing something on your head.” It was gospel to both parties. Nixon’s 1968 planning book said, “Presidents never wear hats”. It listed every conceivable hat one could wear. It ends with all capitals, “HATS ARE TOXIC AND CAN KILL YOU”. Michael Dukakis broke the rule during the 1988 campaign when he went for a ride in a tank wearing a helmet as his head barely stuck out of the top of the tank. He looked like he was six years old. There was never a President Dukakis.
There is a history of a few presidents getting away with breaking the hat rule. In 1927, President Coolidge accepted and wore a headdress given to him as a gift by the Sioux when he visited Deadwood, North Dakota. Coolidge was popular with Native Americans. He signed the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924 which granted automatic citizenship to all Native Americans. Times have really changed. President Reagan and Lyndon Johnson wore cowboy hats while on their ranches. Reagan carried it off when he was in the movies and he was a natural. No one is going question LBJ wearing a Stetson.
Trump wears his hat because he thinks it shows strength and makes him stand out as a leader and a tough guy. The most outrageous example of his hat wearing was in the Situation Room when he was planning the bombing attack on Iran. I couldn’t imagine any other president wearing a campaign slogan hat while making life and death national security decisions. It reminded me of a scene in “The Sopranos”. Tony was eating with his friend at a nice restaurant when he spotted a couple at another table. The guy was wearing a baseball cap. His friend told Tony how the lack of manners burned him up. Tony got up and went to the table. He bent down and whispered in the guy’s ear to take the hat off, “They don’t sell hot dogs here anymore”. At first, the guy says, “It’s my hat. I’ll wear it where I want.” Tony just stared him down and the guy removed his hat.
At least, Tony Soprano had manners.
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