Donald Trump may be the only person who was actually shot in the ear, but at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, many others are wearing bandages on the side of their faces.
This unusual accessory is trending throughout the convention hall, where delegates and supporters are paying tribute to the former President and party nominee by sporting their own versions of his wound dressing. These range from cotton pads and tape to folded pieces of paper.
Joe Neglia, a delegate from Tempe, Arizona, shared with Fox News on Tuesday that he decided to make his own ear bandage after being inspired by Trump’s arrival at the RNC on Monday. This was Trump’s first public appearance since the attempted assassination at a Pennsylvania rally over the weekend.
“I Put It On Simply To Honour Trump”
“I thought, ‘what can I do to honor the truth? What can I possibly do?’” said Neglia adding, “And then I saw the bandage and I thought, I can do that. So, I put it on simply to honour Trump and to express sympathy with him and unity with him.”
Neglia also mentioned to CBS News that the fake bandages were quickly becoming “the newest fashion trend” at the RNC. He remarked, “Everybody in the world’s going to be wearing these pretty soon. I’m setting new fashion ground here.”
Stacey Goodman, another delegate from Arizona participating in the patch-clad trend, told KSBW Action News that she decided to mimic Trump’s look after seeing another delegate with an ear bandage. She noted that more and more people were joining in, all “in solidarity with President Trump.”
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“We Need A Symbol”
Texas delegate Jackson Carpenter told the Washington Post “We need a symbol about political violence not being acceptable in America.”
“For all the stylistic flourishes of the Trump era, from hats to sneakers, this one seems the most organic,” Republican strategist Liam Donovan told the Post. “It was truly a surreal moment that people are still processing, and this is a recognizable show of solidarity in a meme-ified political moment.”
Trump supporter Corey Comperatore and gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks were killed at the scene of Saturday’s shooting, which also left two other rallygoers injured. Trump himself emerged largely unscathed, with only a minor injury to his ear.
Initially seen with a smaller bandage shortly after the incident, Trump appeared at the RNC on Monday with a thick white pad covering his right ear, sparking viral memes across the political spectrum.
This bandage has bolstered Trump’s image of infallibility among his supporters, many of whom already view him as a messianic figure. Trump allies have credited his survival to “divine intervention,” and Trump himself stated after the shooting, “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
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