DOVER, Del. — President Donald Trump donned a white “USA” baseball cap Saturday afternoon as he saluted a transfer case draped with the American flag when the remains of the first six service members killed in the war with Iran were carried off an Air Force transport plane.
The sartorial choice set off a controversy that continued into Monday, as critics — including some Republicans — derided his hat as disrespectful and also criticized Fox News for airing footage that inaccurately showed Trump hatless.
Trump’s cap emblazoned with “USA” in gold letters appeared to be a model that retails on the Trump Organization’s online store for $55.
“This fool has ABSOLUTELY no sense of dignity or appreciation for the moment,” Michael Steele, Republican National Committee chair from 2009 to 2011, and a critic of Trump, wrote on X. “It is called the Dignified Transfer for a reason. Take your d–n hat off!!”
For years, presidents and vice presidents from both parties have been criticized for conduct and fashion choices viewed as disrespectful to the military or the office of the presidency. One of Trump’s critics noted that Republicans would have rebuked a Democrat for making the same wardrobe decision as Trump.
“I know what Republicans would have said if Obama had done this — I would have written the statement,” wrote Douglas Heye, a former communications director for the Republican National Committee. “Shameful.”
The White House did not explain Trump’s decision to wear the hat and dismissed the criticism.
“The President grieved with their incredible families, shared his love, and expressed the deep gratitude of our entire nation,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate Never Trumpers are disgustingly playing partisan politics, and they need their heads checked.”
Trump and his allies have often attacked other leaders for fashion choices they viewed as disrespectful. During an explosive blowup in the Oval Office with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last year, Brian Glenn, a correspondent at Real America’s Voice and the partner of former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), pressed Zelensky on his decision not to wear a suit to a meeting with Trump. The meeting ultimately resulted in Trump and Vice President JD Vance scolding the Ukrainian leader for not being grateful enough for U.S. support in the war.
In 2021, conservatives widely criticized President Joe Biden for checking his watchduring the dignified transfer of soldiers who died in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama faced blowback for asking marines to hold umbrellas over him and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a rainy news conference in the Rose Garden in 2013, and he was widely panned for wearing a tan suit to a news conference in 2014.
Vice President Dick Cheney’s decision to wear an olive parka and a ski cap to a solemn ceremony to markthe 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in January 2005 was criticized as inappropriate, in contrast with the black overcoats other leaders wore.
Fox News took a hit over the weekend when it aired footage multiple times of Trump on the Dover tarmac without a hat, using footage from another time he attended a dignified transfer at the same base. The network issued an on-air apology after critics on social media accused the network of “covering up” Trump’s decision to wear a baseball hat. Fox’s Griff Jenkins said on air later that day that the network “inadvertently” aired footage from an older dignified transfer.
Fox News Media said in a statement that the footage was “mistakenly used during the video sourcing process.” Joey Jones, host of “The Big Weekend Show” and a combat veteran, apologized to any service members upset by the video.
Trump did not have his hat on during his entire stop in Delaware on Saturday. The president exited Air Force One at 1:22 p.m., walking hatless down the steps at Dover Air Force Base, where the temperature was in the mid-50s under overcast skies – at least 20 degrees colder than the Florida climate he had departed. The baseball cap – its back half folded into the front, as though he did not intend to use it in that moment – was in his hand.
As he entered his armored vehicle, he turned toward the press, mouthed the words “thank you,” and held up his fist, as he often does. The president’s motorcade then made a short trip across the tarmac to a building where the slain soldiers’ families were waiting. He met with them privately for about an hour.
After the meeting, the presidents’ top aides and other dignitaries – governors, lawmakers and senior military leaders – walked to the area near the massive C-17 transport plane where they were to stand at attention across from the seated families as the remains of the soldiers were transferred to vans. Trump and Vance took separate motorcades across the tarmac, and once the families were in place along with the other dignitaries, the leaders and their wives emerged from their vehicles. Trump wasn’t wearing a hat.
He briefly disappeared from the sightline of cameras and journalists as he composed himself. When he reappeared, the white hat was on: USA in gold stitching across the front, the same or similar to the one he wore the previous weekend in the recorded video in which he announced to the American people the start of the attack on Iran. The hat features an American flag on the left temple, and on the right is emblazoned with a 45/47 logo — a reference to Trump’s nonconsecutive terms.
Trump has faced criticism for wearing merchandisethat his family business profits from while engaged in presidential duties. The Trump Store website says the hat will take an additional seven to 10 days to ship “due to high demand.”
Later, on the flight back to Miami, Trump came to the rear of Air Force One to speak to reporters. The hat was gone, and his hair was perfectly in place.
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