The One Thing Donald Trump Is Supposed To Never Wear (But Does It Anyway)

While the United States doesn't have a formal dress code in the same way the royal family does across the pond, there are still some unspoken expectations of what a president should wear. For example, whether it's a crisp navy or contentious tan (like Barack Obama's controversial sartorial choice), presidents are rarely seen in the Capitol not wearing a suit. They're also usually not seen wearing headgear of any sort, which makes President Donald Trump's ever-present MAGA (Make America Great Again) hat stick out all the more.

From before his first victory in 2016 to pre-inauguration rallies for his second term, Trump has loved wearing the MAGA hat, which retails for a whopping $50 on the official Trump Store website. He often brandishes it at rallies with his supporters, who wear it in droves. It's become something of a symbol and identifier for his constituents. "I do think that there's this sense that if you put on that hat, you are knowingly shrouding yourself in something that has all of these dark connotations and, in knowingly doing that, that implies that you're OK with it," The Washington Post's Robin Givhan pointedly put it in 2019 during a conversation with NPR.

Regardless of the negative connotations surrounding the MAGA hat, Trump's faithful haven't stopped wearing the typically bright red cap. The president himself hasn't either, and likely won't, unspoken rule or not.

"Here's the general rule: You don't put stuff on your head if you're president. That's Politics 101," President Barack Obama said in 2013. The Navy football team visited the White House and gave him a custom-fitted helmet, but he declined to wear it. "You never look good wearing something on your head," he explained, per Politico.

It's not unheard of for world leaders to wear headgear; women in the royal family are known for their fashionable hats. But it is something of an unwritten rule for U.S. presidents, and you'll be hard-pressed to find one — outside of Donald Trump — wearing a hat or some other sort of headgear. By some accounts, the no-headgear rule stemmed from Michael Dukakis and his failed presidential bid.

Dukakis was the governor of Massachusetts when he won the 1988 Democratic primary. Having been criticized for being soft on defense, Dukakis arranged a photo op where he would be photographed with an M1 Abrams tank in an effort to change his perception. "[The press] just thought it was the most ridiculous thing that they had seen Mike Dukakis do over the course of this campaign," campaign aide Matt Bennett said of the photo op in the Politico documentary "Dukakis and the Tank: The Making of a Political Disaster." Dukakis wore a too-tight helmet, with a strap obstructing his chin, committing the ultimate faux pas. "One cardinal rule of advance is never, ever put your candidate in any kind of hat or headgear ... and this was the mother of all hats," Bennett said. The image was used by George H. W. Bush to mock Dukakis in campaign ads, and he wasn't able to live it down.