Today we’re going to talk about Elon Musk’s black MAGA hat. I know what you’re thinking: With everything else going on you want to talk about a forking hat?
But bear with me, because Musk’s black hat isn’t random. It’s an intentional choice made to crack up MAGA. Musk is attempting to build a splinter movement, complete with his own competing iconography.
Musk’s black hat might be the future of MAGA, both seriously and literally.
1. Pieces of Flair
Branding and iconography have always been important to Trump.
The golden escalator. The red hat. The posed mug shot. The NFTs. The glowering presidential portrait.
These are not the aspects of normal political life in America.1 They were a concerted effort to elevate Trump above of the realm of traditional politics into the category of lifestyle brand.
Or, if you take a more sinister view, to turn Trumpism into a state within a state. There is a reason Trump flags are a thing.
A flag is a symbol you follow into battle and salute. The Trump flags were designed to have only small elements in common with the American flag. They were not meant to echo Old Glory, but to present an alternative to it. To signal not just political affinity with a man, but a pledge of allegiance to him.
You know who else was really into alternative flags?
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