LETTER TO THE EDITOR / MAGA

Roger C. Kostmayer

Recent marketing reports show that, in spite of two difficult and divisive years that ended with a government shutdown, sales of those red Trump campaign ball caps that say “MAGA” (Make America Great Again) continue to rise. This result doesn’t mesh with polls that track the President’s unfavorable/ favorable ratings or other data. Trump’s favorable ratings have dropped from a high of 46% to the current 39%, meaning that almost two- thirds of Americans gave an unfavorable response. To put this in some historical context, no American President has ever failed to get a favorable rating of more than 50%, until now. So why are hat sales going up when approval ratings are going down?

This statistical mystery is hard to crack. Older male (ball cap wearing) voters express concern that the White House is trying to make Russia, Syria, North Korea and Turkey great again while insulting NATO and our closest allies. And suburban ball cap wearing women massively rejected chaos and corruption in the 2018 Democratic landslide. It doesn’t make sense.

The only polling data that might cast some light on this anomaly, are anecdotal reports that the mysterious rise in MAGA cap sales may have something to do with confusion about the meaning of the acronym. Apparently, younger ball cap wearing voters claim it stands for: “Morons Are Governing America”.

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