There's a sweary, swaggering menace to Trump fans now

DISRESPECT Trump voters at your peril. This is a cardinal rule for politicians and commentators after Hillary Clinton called Donald Trump’s supporters a “basket of deplorables” and lost the 2016 election for being snooty and elitist.

- Sarah Baxter

So I’m plunging into this debate with some trepidation. But extreme Make America Great Again types are happy to behave disrespectfully towards their fellow Americans. Their conduct is crude, sleazy and deplorable. There, I’ve said it.

A few days ago a Maga supporter was kicked off a plane in Florida for wearing a T-shirt depicting Trump in American flag sunglasses giving the middle finger with both hands and bearing the message: “Hawk Tuah… Spit on that Thang.” It is hard to explain what this onomatopoeic phrase means in a family publication. Let’s just say a young woman from Nashville has become famous for 15 minutes as the “Hawk Tuah girl” after she was filmed in the street by some YouTubers and asked what drives men “crazy every time” in bed.

An observant passenger videoed the plane incident and posted it on Reddit. The wearer had apparently agreed to wear his T-shirt inside out during the flight after a passenger complained, but then flipped it back and was asked to disembark. “Stupid a** Wendy,” he smirked at the flight attendant as he was escorted off the plane. He didn’t think he’d done anything wrong.

I’ve seen dozens of people wearing the same lewd T-shirt at Trump rallies, as well as others like “Joe and the Hoe Gotta Go”, a vulgar reference to Kamala Harris. You can find them on sale for around $20 at the numerous Trump pop-up stores that have emerged during this election and on Amazon for next-day delivery. Nice.

A neighbour of mine has another choice example of Trump merchandise on display. He lives near a church and school where children pass by and flies a flag from his porch that says: “Trump 2024. F*** Your Feelings” (without the asterisks). Until Biden’s withdrawal from the race, he flew two giant flags with the message, “F*** Biden”. I am convinced this is why there are far fewer Trump flags and lawn signs in my neighbourhood today than there were in 2020.