So, for the past several days, I was on vacation on South Padre Island, Texas. For those of you who have been keeping track, yes, I wrote while I was on vacation when I had spare time. Maybe not as often as I do when I’m home, but yeah, I snuck in a few articles when I could—I just can’t help myself sometimes.
Last year, I bought a dark MAGA hat and started wearing it proudly in public—something I never would have considered eight years ago. On the surface, it might not seem like a big deal, but for me, it marked a shift. Part of it comes from simply not caring what others think anymore. But more importantly, something changed after the assassination attempt on Trump on July 13, 2024. In the aftermath of that day, I think a lot changed for Trump supporters, because I noticed a lot more people proudly displaying their support for Trump after that.
Not long ago, anti-Trump hysteria ruled the public square, making it downright risky to be an open supporter. That fear kept plenty of people quiet, but things are changing. While I’m still mindful of my surroundings—no point in picking fights in hostile territory—there’s no denying that being pro-Trump doesn’t feel nearly as dangerous as it once did. The silent majority isn’t so silent anymore, and there’s a growing sense of unity among Trump supporters that was far less visible during his first term or the dark days of Biden’s disastrous presidency.
So, I wear my hat often. The reaction has not only been overwhelmingly positive, but compliments have been relatively common, and I often catch approving smiles and nods from fellow patriots.
Related: Trump’s Second Term Is Reshaping America. Can You Feel It?
I took my hat on vacation with me and decided to see what would happen. As I said above, we went to South Padre Island, Texas. While it’s easy to assume that because we were in Texas my wearing a MAGA hat wasn’t exactly a huge risk, when you’re at a resort full of tourists, it’s probably no different than anywhere else.
So, how’d it go? Very well. I got compliments on my hat at the hotel, around the resort, in the hotel elevator, and at the pool. Everywhere. There weren’t many comments, but I got them. I even got one from the stewardess—I’m sorry, flight attendant—on my flight from Harlingen, Texas, to Austin, Texas.
I thought that was pretty cool.
Even people who didn’t mention the hat were still friendly, which was nice. At one point, I did find myself in the pool next to a few people who were clearly anti-Trumpers moaning and complaining about Donald Trump and Elon Musk—and there I was, drinking a beer wearing the same dark MAGA hat that Elon Musk wears. Did they notice me—or more specifically, my hat? I’m not sure. I wasn’t going to butt into their conversation and debunk the moronic things they were saying about Trump and Musk.
Logically, plenty of people who didn't vote for Trump must have seen me in my MAGA—yet they said nothing and even treated me with kindness. It made me wonder if there are more reasonable, tolerant Democrats out there than we realize. I often assume most of them are the unhinged, frothing-at-the-mouth types who can’t resist confronting a Trump supporter. But maybe that’s not the full story. Or perhaps there’s some truth to the theory that even some Kamala Harris voters are secretly relieved Trump won—because deep down, they know he’s the only one who can actually fix the mess this country is in.
Whatever the answer is, I’m home now, and I’m looking forward to getting back to my usual writing schedule.
