The MAGA Aesthetic Is Beginning to Rot

[marmar]

The MAGA Aesthetic Is Beginning to Rot
The stable of imagery associated with the far-right insurgency no longer seems as fresh as it did when Trump first donned his red cap.

CHRIS LEHMANN


(The Nation) For headline writers and Beltway pundits, the takeaway from last week’s State of the Union address was clear: Despite ongoing speculation about President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline, he delivered a pugnacious, energetic, and policy-driven speech, which served as the unofficial debut of his 2024 reelection pitch. But beyond the forensic attention devoted to Biden’s delivery from the podium, there was another pronounced theme amid the SOTU pageantry: the corresponding enfeeblement of the MAGA aesthetic, which played such a central role in Donald Trump’s surprise election to the presidency in 2016.

The MAGA brand crisis was telegraphed most dramatically in the immediate run-up to the speech, as Biden did the traditional presidential slow-walk toward the podium, greeting assembled lawmakers along the way. Georgia GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene approached Biden wearing a red MAGA hat and handed the president a badge commemorating Laken Riley, the Georgia nurse allegedly murdered by a suspect who entered the country illegally. Greene also sported a “Say Her Name” T-shirt, again in reference to Riley. When Biden espied Greene’s ensemble, he delivered an astonished double take as eloquent as any line in his speech.

....(snip)....

What was most telling about Greene’s stunt wardrobe was the date on the hat: Instead of being minted for the looming 2024 general election, it came from Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign, which—despite the lies of Trump, Greene, and other MAGA leaders— he lost decisively. And make no mistake: Greene, a perfect specimen of do-nothing right-wing congressional service, lives for these camera-ready moments of political theater. She certainly didn’t descend to the same level of sartorial carelessness back when she dressed as a Chinese spy balloon.

....(snip)....

To better understand why MAGA iconography is now misfiring, it’s useful to review the original nature of its appeal. The MAGA brand is familiar to anyone who’s watched a half-hour cable TV infomercial: It’s a mass-produced, rather carelessly assembled, badge of self-improvement doubling as a pronouncement on the parlous state of the American republic. It promises the same instant boons to well-being that you’d get from B-grade TV hosts hawking diet gummies or snuggle blankets. The fact that so much of official MAGA ideology is so deeply incoherent is testimony to the many ways that Trumpism is a brand first, and a political affiliation as something of an afterthought. ..............(more)

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/maga-aesthetic-trump-style/

[brewens]

1. Maybe a say their names campaign for those murdered by domestic terrorists. I haven't seen anything like that

from republicans. Start with Oklahoma City. Not enough is said about that. Terrorists motivated by martyring a child rape cult. That's what it was.

[Bev54]

5. Even for those police officers that died from 1/6

[PJMcK]

2. K & R for an excellent article

Thanks for posting the link!

Let’s hope the analysis is correct.

[SARose]

3. Troy Nehls outfit

I’m soo proud to be a native Houstonian and Texan. Nehls wore a tee shirt with Trumpy’s mug shot and the words “Never Surrender” to the State of the Union speech. What does that mean? He topped that off with a patriotic bow tie. Don’t you know his Mama is proud of her boy gettin all gussied up?

I will say that he was photographed with others barricading the door to the House floor and admonishing rioters on January 6th.

He worked with Val Demmings. He seemed genuinely interested in working with Biden on criminal justice reform.

And then he drank the kool aid and voted against border security.

Btw Fort Bend County Texas has turned from ruby red to purple. Hopes for a blue county this year remain high.

[Warpy]

4. She threatened a fistfight with the Sgt. at Arms over that stupid fucking hat

Her manners are certainly abominable.

I've been to Rome, GA. She will most likely be reelected.

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Bookmark. Thanks, marmar. ❤️