Trump’s red and white trucker hats are a distinctive and deliberately un-stylish triumph of branding. They are also an appropriate icon for his failing campaign.
Until this September, the nominee had spent more on headgear than opinion polling. But that news isn’t surprising — it’s the perfect microcosm for 2016. Emblazoned with his Make America Great Again slogan, the gimmick illustrates how the celebrity candidate is focused more on branding than on winning.
Until two months before Election Day, according to the Washington Post, the business mogul was spending more on merchandise than on the political infrastructure necessary to defeat Hillary Clinton.
Shelling out $15.3 million on campaign swag like shirts, hats and signs, Trump allowed budgets for direct mail, field staff, and data analysis to languish. Particularly jaw-dropping is his decision to spend just $1.8 million on polling and $3.2 million on his hats.
That wasn’t a problem for Trump at first. During the crowded GOP primary, Trump stood out among the other 16 candidates, wearing garish suits and donning trucker hats. The branding was brilliant. His supporters could buy into the movement with merchandise and literally wear Trump’s message on their foreheads. Who can even resist looking at every red baseball cap they see on the street these days, just to check whether it’s a Trump hat?
While bullying Republicans and earning $2 billion in free air time, Trump never had to offer substance to the bold populist promise on his hats. During that street fight primary, he only needed to lampoon his opponents as losers and promise future victories.
But what worked in the primary has flopped in the general election so far. Trump failed to prepare for his opponent, identify his own weaknesses, or anticipate the predictable onslaught of negative media. Instead, he kept buying hats.
It’s the perfect example of an unconventional candidate refusing to listen to conventional political wisdom.
Now in the final stretch before November 8, it’s clear that Trump’s trucker hat isn’t magic. It can’t fix his problems with independent voters or women in critical swing states, offer a convincing rebuttal to attack ads or coordinate a national get-out-the-vote campaign.
But that doesn’t mean that the merchandise will be wasted if Trump loses. The millions of hats will make excellent keepsakes for those who thought his populist bravado could overcome Clinton’s unimaginative and conventional but well-oiled political machine.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
