Dwain Northey (Gen X)

There are many traditions in the United States military. Saluting the flag. Honoring the fallen. And at a dignified transfer ceremony—when the remains of American service members return home at Dover Air Force Base—there is one particularly complicated ritual: you take your hat off.

It’s not difficult. Millions of Americans learned this before they were ten years old. Ball caps come off during the national anthem, during prayer, and certainly when six flag-draped coffins are carried off a military transport plane.

Yet somehow this proved to be an unsolvable puzzle for Donald Trump.

This is the same man who constantly assures us he loves the troops more than anyone. The same man whose supporters wrap themselves in flags, wear “Back the Blue” T-shirts, and treat military worship like a competitive sport. The same crowd that will write a 900-word Facebook post about someone kneeling during the anthem.

But when American soldiers killed in the war with Iran were brought home, the commander-in-chief showed up wearing a white “USA” baseball cap—reportedly even one sold through his own merchandise line—while saluting their coffins. Critics from across the political spectrum immediately pointed out the obvious: at a ceremony literally called a dignified transfer, maybe take the hat off. 

Apparently that was asking too much.

And just to make the moment even more surreal, some coverage on Fox News briefly showed older footage of Trump without a hat—accidentally (they say)—which critics noted had the convenient effect of hiding the actual moment from viewers. 

So let’s recap the modern definition of “support the troops”:

Start a war. Send young Americans to die in it. Receive their bodies back on American soil. Keep the campaign merch on.

But don’t worry—the red-hat brigade will still insist that they are the true defenders of the military. After all, nothing says reverence for fallen soldiers quite like refusing to remove the hat in front of their coffins.

Because apparently honoring the troops is very important… right up until it interferes with the branding. 🇺🇸🧢