Donald Trump’s presidency has been polarizing, to say the least, and the MAGA hat that symbolizes his administration is no different. A Media Research Center (MRC) report spotlights a black Trump supporter, Bryson Gray, who claims that his conservative views and support of Trump have caused people close to him to suggest that he can’t support Trump because he’s African American.
It appears that Gray is dealing with the dismissive comments by facing them head-on. He says he can support “whoever the hell” he wants and purchased a supersized MAGA hat to express his solidarity in the face of judgment from his friends.
“They told me I shouldn’t wear the MAGA hat so I bought the biggest MAGA hat,” Gray said. “So, it makes it double the importance.”
Gray also took to Twitter to voice his further express his opinion.
“I am not your average conservative. I don’t attempt to talk politically correct. I don’t wear suits. I clap back! I listen to all types of music…I’m a rapper…and a real Christian…plus I play fortnite so yeah. The opinion I care about is God’s!”
Per The Inquisitr , it hasn’t been long since a MAGA hat made the news. Luke Lenzner accused Leopold A. Hauser and Adebisi A. Okuneye of attacking him at a Portland, Oregon, bar, Growler’s Taproom, for wearing a MAGA hat. Both Hauser and Okuneye were arrested by police due to Lenzner’s allegations, but a Multnomah County grand jury declined to charge them. The decision was made following revelations that Lenzner was threatening patrons at another bar, The Vern, before the altercation at Growler’s Taproom.
Watch: Black Trump Fan at NC Rally Explains Why He Bought the Biggest MAGA Hat He Could Find (cc: Debra Messing) — via @sistertoldjah – #ICYMI #ncpol #nc09 https://t.co/pZOeS8EdSF
— RedState (@RedState) September 10, 2019
Regardless of Gray’s feelings, not everyone is on-board with the MAGA hat. Jeffrey Omari, a visiting assistant professor at the Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, believes that MAGA hats are an “undeniable symbol of white supremacy.” Per Yahoo News , Omari claims that his perspective as a progressive African American in an “increasingly polarized political climate” has led him to believe that the hat expresses “hatred toward certain nonwhite groups.”
Omari addressed a time when a student wore a MAGA hat in his class and said his “blood boiled” at the sight of it. However, Omari said it was unclear whether the student was wearing the hat to direct a “hateful message” toward him intentionally or if he was “oblivious” and “lacked decorum.” Nevertheless, he claims wearing the hat was the equivalent of the student directing “derogatory racial obscenities” toward him for the duration of his class.
