Neil deGrasse Tyson's Hat Trick
Celebrity astrophysicist , Neil deGrasse Tyson just rebranded MAGA hats with irony, intellect, and a challenge stitched in red. Here's why it matters!
American celebrity astrophysicist and writer, Neil deGrasse Tyson, recently stood in a corridor, unsmiling. In each hand, a bunch of red caps. That red cap which supporters of the new administration in America love: Make America Great Again is one of them. Others read 'Make Lying Wrong Again' and another 'Relax, it's Just a Red Hat'
But of course, it isn't. The image Tyson shared on his social media account reads: Decision. Decision. Which hat to wear today? Now, fans are divided over his allegiance. Trump supporter or not? While that goes unanswered unless you have been following him on X (previously Twitter), the hats aren't the best fashion statements, if you ask. But they're statements.
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These plain-vanilla red hats are stitched with irony, mimicking the most charged symbol in recent memory, where elements of fashion have been successfully etched as symbols of political and in a way cultural branding.
In India, we have the 'Modi Jacket' — a sleeveless, colourful, sharp-cut jacket made from Khadi or other Indian textiles, or Obama's tan suit or his dad jeans for that matter that at one point in history had everyone gushing about.
What's often worn in a political realm of things carries a coded meaning. Whether its a sari, a blue jacket, a red cap, 'Protect the dolls' T-shirt or even a pair of sneakers. Far away from the runway, these represent the weaving of the cultural fabric more than personal narratives that in an era of virality stands at intersections of style, identity and ideological collision.
And as Daphine Guinness once said.” Fashion is not just about trends. It's about political history.”. Whether or not we consciously participate in this cultural grammar, it is s a carrier of meaning and expression.
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The MAGA cap introduced by Donald Trump during the 2016 U.S election campaign, has a white-on-red design with a slogan that became a symbol of unity among Trump supporters. The words are simple yet worth pondering upon.
Over the years, for critics it’s become entirely different. They say the phrase is "loaded" and a "dog whistle" for supporters of Trump's political ideologies. For supporters, its reigniting belief around the American Dream.
So, Tyson's picture with the red hats seems to be an inversion. Its reframing of the red hat not as a declaration of allegiance but as a question about the how we wear power, how we signal belief, and how fashion is a form of expression.
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That's why he says, "Decision. Decision. Which hat to wear today?" It's a humorous take on the idea of putting your thinking hat on so you can pick between making American great again, smart again, making lying wrong again or just relax, cause' its just a red hat!