Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

POLITICAL CAMPAIGN HAT

Date Range From

2020

Date Range To

2020

Materials

POLYESTER, COTTON, SPANDEX

No. Pieces

1

Height

14

Diameter

17.5

Description

BLACK POLYESTER/COTTON/SPANDEX BALL CAP WITH “TRUMP 2020” EMBROIDERED ON THE FRONT RIGHT IN WHITE THREAD AND A CAPITAL Q ON THE BACK. HAT HAS A CURVED BRIM WITH A GREY UNDERSIDE AND AN ELASTICIZED BAND THAT GOES AROUND THE INNER CIRCUMFRENCE AND SAYS “FLEX FIT”. INSIDE OF FRONT TWO PANELS IS WHITE AND THERE ARE SIX AIR HOLES AROUND THE TOP EMBROIDERED WITH BLACK THREAD. THERE ARE THREE TAGS AT THE BACK; FIRST IS SMALL WITH “FLEXFIT®” EMBROIDERED IN RED THREAD; SECOND SAYS “FLEXFIT®” IN RED THREAD AND “63% POLYSTER/POLYESTER, 34% COTTON/COTON, 3% P.U.SPANDEX/P.U.SPANDEX, CA#09279, MADE IN BANGLADESH, FABRIQUE AU BANGLADESH, YUPOONG” IN WHITE THREAD; LAST IS WHITE WITH A BLUE BORDER AND LETTERING THAT SAYS “S-M”. CONDITION IS VERY GOOD. HAT HAS NO PERMENANT DAMAGE BUT IS STAINED BROWN TO VARYING DEGREES, ESPECIALLY ON LIGHTER PARTS. SOME MUD SPLATTERS AND SPOTS OF DIRT PRESENT.

Subjects

CLOTHING-HEADWEAR

Historical Association

PERSONAL CARE

POLITICS

History

ON OCTOBER 1ST 2020 COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN MET WITH JOHN ROBERTS TO DISCUSS JOHN’S RECENT DONATION OF HIS “TRUMP 2020” HAT. THREE WEEKS PRIOR TO HIS DONATION, JOHN WORE THE HAT TO AN ANTI-MASK RALLY AT THE LETHBRIDGE CITY HALL ON SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2020. THE RALLY WAS IN PROTEST OF THE LETHBRIDGE BYLAW 6239, PASSED IN 2020, THAT INDIVIDUALS MUST WEAR A NON-MEDICAL FACE COVERING WHILE IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND VEHICLES TO REDUCE THE SPREAD OF THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE. WHEN ASKED ABOUT HOW HE ACQUIRED THE HAT, JOHN RECALLED: “...THERE WAS A GUY UP NORTH THAT I WORKED WITH. HE SAID HE’S ALSO BIG INTO [TRUMP AND QANON]… WE WERE TALKING AT WORK, AND HE WAS LIKE, '…WE SHOULD GET A COUPLE OF THESE HATS MADE.' …WE FOUND A GUY THAT WORKED WITH MY COMPANY THAT SAYS, '…I CAN GET THESE MADE FOR YOU. NO PROBLEM.' …THEN HE SHOWED UP WITH TWO HATS FOR US, AND THAT’S HOW I CAME ABOUT GETTING IT.” JOHN NOTED THE UNIQUENESS OF THE HAT: “IT WAS CUSTOM MADE; CUSTOM EMBROIDERED.” JOHN FURTHER EXPLAINED: “THE ‘MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN’ HAT, WITH THE ‘TRUMP 2020’ ON IT…TO ME, PERSONALLY DOESN’T STAND OUT AS MUCH AS MY HAT DOES, WHERE IT’S JUST A PLAIN BLACK HAT, WITH ‘TRUMP 2020’ EMBROIDERED ON IT, ON THE FRONT, AND THE ‘Q’ FOR QANON ON THE BACK, FOR ‘WE THE PEOPLE’.” WHEN ASKED ABOUT HIS DECISION TO WEAR THE HAT TO THE ANTI-MASK PROTEST, JOHN ANSWERED: “WITH RELATION TO THE EVENT ITSELF, I MEAN IT IS A ‘TRUMP 2020’ HAT, BUT IT ALSO HAS THE ‘Q' ON THE BACK, WHICH REPRESENTS 'WE THE PEOPLE’, WHICH IS WHAT THEIR FLAG SAYS… TO ME...IT IS A HAT. IT DOESN’T REALLY HAVE A WHOLE LOT TO DO WITH THE ANTI-MASK THING PER SE. I WEAR IT BECAUSE…THERE’S LIBERALS OUT THERE THAT WILL JUST BREAK DOWN AND CRY OVER IT, AND...I WEAR IT BECAUSE I BELIEVE TRUMP IS DOING A GREAT JOB FOR HIS COUNTRY, FOR HIS PEOPLE, AND HE’S NOT THE RUN-OF-THE-MILL POLITICIAN THAT JUST BENDS OVER BACKWARDS FOR PEOPLE. HE FLAT OUT SAYS, 'NO, THIS IS THE WAY IT IS. THIS IS THE WAY I’M RUNNING THE COUNTRY. YOU DON’T LIKE IT – TOO BAD.' AND, HE GOES AGAINST THE BIG GOVERNMENT, AND THE ‘DEEP STATE’, IF YOU WILL, AND THINGS LIKE THAT… HE’S EXPOSING A LOT OF PEOPLE FOR WHAT THEY TRULY ARE. AND…I WEAR IT BECAUSE I DON’T BELIEVE IN OUR GOVERNMENT.” “THERE WAS QUITE A FEW PEOPLE [AT THE RALLY] THAT ACTUALLY NOTICED THE HAT, AND GAVE ME A ‘THUMBS-UP’...AND IF THEY WERE BUSY TALKING, THEY JUST KIND OF LOOKED AND POINTED AT MY HAT, AND KIND OF GAVE THE HAT MOTION, AND GAVE ME A ‘THUMBS UP’.” JOHN SPOKE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS HAT IN HIS COLLECTION: “I PRETTY MUCH HAVE THE ONE HAT. THIS IS THE ONE I WEAR EVERY DAY, UNLESS I’M AT WORK... I CHANGE IT OUT, JUST SO I DON’T RUIN THE HAT, BUT…THIS IS MY EVERY DAY RUN-OF-THE-MILL HAT... I HAVE OTHER HATS. THIS IS JUST MY FAVORITE HAT, AND I’M PRETTY ATTACHED TO IT. EVEN [MY SON] WEARS IT ALL THE TIME. HE RUNS AROUND WITH IT ON.” JOHN RECALLED WHEN HE FIRST GOT THE HAT: “IT WAS PROBABLY JULY [2020] WHEN I FIRST GOT IT…IT’S…RELATIVELY NEW…IT DOES HAVE SOME WEAR IN IT, THAT’S FOR SURE.” JOHN DISCUSSED WHERE HE WEARS THE HAT: “IT’S…UP IN THE OIL PATCH, UP PAST FORT MCMURRAY. I ALSO WEAR IT ANY PLACE I GO, IF I TRAVEL OUTSIDE THE PROVINCE. I WEAR IT. WHEREVER I GO, THIS HAT IS ATTACHED TO MY HEAD… IF IT IS NOT ATTACHED TO MY HEAD, I’M WORKING, AND I’M WEARING ANOTHER HAT, THEN IT IS DISPLAYED IN THE FRONT WINDOW OF MY TRUCK, SO PEOPLE WALKING BY CAN READ THE HAT.” JOHN EXPLAINED HOW HIS HAT TIED INTO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: "TRUMP IS AN ANTI-MASKER. ALTHOUGH I DON’T THINK HE IS SO MUCH AN ANTI-MASKER, HE JUST DOESN’T BELIEVE IN IT AND HE’S NOT FORCING HIS PEOPLE TO DO IT. HE’S JUST TRYING TO RUN THE COUNTRY THE BEST ECONOMICALLY, AND...THEIR NUMBERS ARE FAKE, JUST AS MUCH AS OURS ARE, DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LOOK…[DONALD TRUMP] JUST DOESN’T AGREE. HE KNOWS THAT IT WAS A BIO-WEAPON FABRICATED BY CHINA…I READ AN ARTICLE. I’LL SWEAR THAT BECAUSE HONG KONG WAS PROTESTING, AND WANTED TRUMP TO STEP IN, [THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT] RELEASED THE COVID VIRUS INTO HONG KONG TO SILENCE THE PEOPLE, BECAUSE [HONG KONG] WANTED OUT OF COMMUNISM, AND [CHINA WANTS] TO CARRY ON. YOU KNOW, [HONG KONG WAS] BEGGING FOR TRUMP TO COME AND SAVE THEM, BECAUSE THEY SEE THE CORRUPTION, AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND, BECAUSE OF THAT, THEN THEY RELEASED THIS VIRUS; MAYBE DIDN’T EXPECT IT TO GO WORLD-WIDE, BUT…HERE WE ARE.” JOHN SPOKE ABOUT HOW HE BECAME AWARE OF THE UPCOMING ANTI-MASK RALLY: “I ACTUALLY FOLLOW THE…‘ALBERTANS AGAINST MANDATORY MASKS’ GROUP ON FACEBOOK, BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING I FULLY SUPPORT. I WAS THERE AND JUST SO HAPPENED TO HAVE THE DAY OFF. WE WERE COMING TO TOWN THAT DAY, AND THAT’S WHERE WE ENDED UP, TO SHOW MY SUPPORT, AND I WANTED TO JUST ADD ANOTHER NUMBER TO THE CROWD, AND MAKE SURE…THAT IT’S NOT JUST A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE THAT ARE DISAGREEING WITH THIS. IT’S MORE THAN JUST A COUPLE OF PEOPLE HOLDING SIGNS… I LIKE BEING ‘LOUD AND PROUD’. I BELIEVE IN WHAT I STAND FOR, AND I WILL BACK-UP ANYTHING I STAND FOR. IF FEELINGS GET HURT ON THE WAY, THAT’S NOT MY PROBLEM.” “I WAS THERE BECAUSE I FULLY DISAGREE WITH THE MASK BYLAW. I THINK IT’S, AFTER 7-8 MONTHS INTO THIS SUPPOSED PANDEMIC, THAT NOW THEY’RE IMPLEMENTING A MASK BYLAW AND THAT’S LIKE HANDING OUT BIRTH CONTROL AT A BABY SHOWER, AND I DON’T THINK IT’S ACCEPTABLE. AND THEY ARE TRYING TO TAKE AWAY OUR CORE IDENTITY AS PEOPLE, AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION…AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER THINGS AS WELL... I HAVE MY ‘TRUMP 2020’ HAT, WITH THE ‘Q’ ON THE BACK, STANDING FOR ‘WE THE PEOPLE’, AND I BELIEVE THAT THE PEOPLE NEED TO BE HEARD… I DON’T THINK THAT WE ARE BEING HEARD…[THE BYLAW] WAS DONE WITH THE STROKE OF A PEN, AND NOBODY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY ANYTHING AGAINST IT. I DON’T AGREE WITH IT, AND I DON’T AGREE WITH A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON WITH THIS COVID, ECONOMICALLY AND OTHERWISE. IT’S A WAY TO COVER UP THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON WITH THE GOVERNMENT, AND ALSO CORRUPTION.” JOHN RECALLED THE DAY OF THE LETHBRIDGE CITY HALL RALLY: “I REMEMBER EVERYBODY STANDING OUT IN THE FRONT BEFORE WE WENT INTO THE [CITY COUNCIL] CHAMBER, AND WATCHING ALL THE POLITICIANS RUN BEHIND THE WALL, EXCEPT THE TWO THAT ACTUALLY SUPPORT THE ANTI-MASK BYLAW… IT WAS JUST A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT ALL STOOD FOR THE SAME THING; THAT ALL BELIEVE IN THE SAME THING… EVERYBODY’S THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ALIGNED THAT DAY… IT WAS A WAY TO HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD, BECAUSE I FEEL THAT, EVEN IF WE HAVE OUR VOICE HEARD, IT FALLS ON DEAF EARS REGARDLESS, DUE TO OUR CITY COUNCIL, OR GOVERNMENT ON ANY LEVEL. WE SEEM TO BE NEGLECTED AS A PEOPLE, AND IT’S WHAT THEY WANT TO PUSH FOR THEIR AGENDA, OR WHATEVER MEANS THAT THEY HAVE TO PUSH FOR.” WHEN ASKED IF HE THOUGHT THE GOALS FOR THE PROTEST WERE MET, JOHN RESPONDED: “I DON’T THINK IT WAS ACHIEVED…BECAUSE, WHAT WE WANTED TO DO, AND WHAT I FEEL THAT WE WANTED TO HAPPEN WAS THAT WE WANTED THE CITY COUNCILLORS TO LISTEN, AND INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE THEY RAN AWAY. THE MAYOR RAN AWAY… MASK ON OR MASK OFF, IT DOESN’T MATTER. JUST HEAR WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY AND LISTEN…TO OUR CONCERNS INSTEAD OF JUST DOING WHATEVER THEY FEEL IS BEST FOR THE PEOPLE. WELL, THEY DON’T SPEAK FOR EVERYBODY… NOBODY COMES AROUND AND ASKS ME MY OPINION… WE WERE AGGRAVATED, WE WERE UPSET, BECAUSE…WE’RE NOT BEING HEARD… THERE’S A LOT OF US THAT ARE GOING TO KEEP FIGHTING FOR IT, UNTIL WE GET ANSWERS, OR THE GOVERNMENT JUST BACKS OFF…” FOR MORE INFORMATION, INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20200032000

Acquisition Date

2020-10

Collection

Museum

Less detail