An MSNBC contributor ominously compared “Make America Great Again” hats to Confederate flags or swastikas in tweet that has gone viral.
Former GOP operative Cheri Jacobus tweeted the prediction last Wednesday, and it has racked up 310,000 likes and 53,000 retweets.
Thousands of liberal commenters agreed with Jacobus or, like actor Corey Reynolds, questioned only her use of the future tense.
Conservatives were less impressed.
Trump’s signature cap has long been denounced as a hate symbol by some of his critics.
A law professor at Gonzaga University made the case in an essay last July, saying “MAGA is an undeniable symbol of white supremacy and hatred toward certain nonwhite groups.”
Nationwide anti-racism protests have focused renewed outrage on the pro-Trump accessory, as well as on the Confederate flag and other alleged symbols of racism.
In a viral video from last Monday, a woman broke down as she read aloud from a Trump reelection campaign mailer that offered donors a camoflage “Keep America Great” cap in exchange for their support.
- “He’s starting another Holocaust,” she warned.
As Rich Lowry, the editor of National Review, noted in an essay last January, though, in “large swaths of the country, the cap is commonplace.”
“The MAGA hat denotes support for [Trump], yes, but also unapologetic patriotism and a certain boldness,” Lowry said.
