When Donald J. Trump carried out his sentencing news conference in Trump Tower after his hush money trial in May, he did so in his signature red (tie), white (shirt) and blue (suit), standing in front of so many flags that he looked like a head bobbing in an ocean of patriotic hues.
It was a bit of a star-studded set piece for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who, more than any of his predecessors, has embraced the flag as his official fashion inspiration, using imagery to make it a byword for himself. (One of his favorite personal facts is that today, June 14, happens to be his birthday And Flag Day, the date designated by Woodrow Wilson in 1916 commemorating the official adoption of the American flag.)
At almost every major appearance, Mr Trump is planted in a forest of flags – 54 of them on the last night of the 2020 Republican convention alone. As he descends from Trump Air, he passes under an imposing flag waving proudly on the tail; the colors echo in his clothing as if he himself had stepped out of a flying flag.
“Most presidents have one flag behind them when they speak, maybe two,” says Lindsay M. Chervinsky, senior fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University and author of the forthcoming book “Making the Presidency.”
But by charging the flags, by hugging and kissing the flag, as Mr. Trump did 2018 after speaking to the National Federation of Independent Business and again at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2019 And 2020, Ms. Chervinsky continued, Mr. Trump is taking the tradition one step further. “He’s trying to equate himself with patriotism and nationalism,” she said. And his matching clothes are, she said, “the most visual representation of that.”
If Henry Ward Beecherthe 19th century preacher said in 1861, “When a thoughtful mind sees the flag of a country, he sees not the flag, but the nation itself.”
In Mr. Trump’s case, the equation is simple: See him, see the flag, see the nation, get the message. In a visual age, that’s a powerful form of Pavlovian conditioning.
Carrying the flag
Mr. Trump wore navy blue suits, red ties and white shirts before entering politics, but his use of the uniform has evolved. The blue of his suits has become brighter in recent months — less navy or midnight blue, and closer to what Peter Roberti, the president of the Custom Tailors & Designers Association, called a “Neapolitan blue.” Alan Flusser, tailor of the tycoon set and author of “Dressing the Man,” called it “cobalt.” It was a relatively unusual choice among his clients, he said.
“Trump’s brand of blue is something you’ll see more often on TV now, worn by sports journalists or those who want to stand out,” Mr Flusser said. Before Covid, he said, when suits were more common in the workplace, “I would estimate that out of 50 Navy suits sold, maybe three were of a cobalt nature.” This still applies among politicians, who prefer navy blue or gray suits.
And while Mr. Trump has and does wear ties other than red — blue and gold ties were on display during his hush money trial in New York, which revolved in part over decisions he made as a businessman — he almost always returns to his uniform in his highest-stakes political moments.
He wore his red, white and blue combo when he became president in 2016 and before him first official press conference as president-elect. He wore it during his State of the Union addresses in 2019 and 2020; for his speech at the meeting on January 6, 2021; and when he left the White House in 2021. He wore it for his mugshot, the historic photo that has become a staple of his campaign merchandise. He even wore it for his first official TikTok post.
Maybe it’s a coincidence. Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communications director, did not respond to questions about Mr. Trump’s clothing choice other than to say, “There is no president more pro-America than President Trump.”
But there is no doubt that Mr. Trump is a dedicated student of what people wear to do their jobs, both those who have worked for him (his generals, the White House spokesman) and his opponents (Nikki Haley). He also understands the semiology of ties. Just last week, at a meeting in Arizona, he said announced that he had worn a gold tie on purpose because ‘it represents the sun’. And flags of all kinds play a major role in his MAGA rallies, not only on stage, but also as props and expressions of solidarity among attendees.
Put all that together and it reflects the changing cryptography of the American flag, which began as a symbol of the nation available to all regardless of their political denomination, and which continued with the war both during the Civil War and into the 1960s. Vietnam became increasingly tense. said Sean Wilentz, professor of American history at Princeton University.
“It goes from a source of unity to a source of division,” Mr. Wilentz said. “Suddenly the left and the Democrats essentially cede the flag to the right, and the right picks it up and runs with it.” President Ronald Reagan, who was also known for his red ties (although they were generally seen as representing the Republican Party), is an example of this. Yet no one has gotten further with it than Mr. Trump.
“The flag embodies everything it wants to convey,” Mr. Wilentz said. “He is the flag, and everyone else is not. We are America, and everyone else is not.”
It is, Ms. Chervinsky said, an approach “straight out of the authoritarian handbook.” Almost cartoonish.
For Mr Trump, flags serve as a set design, a costume and a sign of loyalty – to him. Theatrics may be most visible at rallies, when anyone can participate in the spectacle through clothing, but the advantage of embedding them in clothing is that they are also replicable. It is no coincidence that Trump supporters such as Doug Burgum, JD Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy came to this conclusion. his trial in New York in matching red, white and blue looks.
Coincidentally, Mr. Trump is celebrating his birthday on Friday evening with one fundraiser hosted by Club 47 USA, formed in support of his re-election, at the Palm Beach Convention Center. The invitation includes a photo of Mr. Trump hugging the flag and specifies a dress code for attendees. Ticket holders are advised to wear red, white and blue, the invitation states.
