Donald Trump can’t get enough of his MAGA hats — but a closer look at his White House collection has some people raising eyebrows.
Exit through the gift shop?
During a recent White House visit from Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, one unusual moment stole the spotlight: they were shown Donald Trump’s flamboyant collection of hats.
White House assistant Margo Martin shared a behind-the-scenes photo from the visit, capturing Trump giving Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy and France’s President Macron a tour of his baseball hat collection.
“Exit through a gift shop,” journalist Olga Nesterova wrote on X, with some arguing that the “tacky merch stand” perfectly sums up the current state of American politics.
The merch room, once a private study — and famously, President Bill Clinton’s love den with intern Monica Lewinsky — has now been transformed into a treasure trove for Trump’s biggest fans and visiting world leaders.
Coveted items include Trump’s golden “Never Surrender” high-top sneakers, which launched last year for $399, and custom-made ties by Stefano Ricci, whose standard designs start at $330 at Neiman Marcus, a source told The New York Post.
Trump has a reputation for generosity in the room. “Fellas, come on, grab what you want. It’s OK,” he told aides while showing the collection to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev after a peace deal signing with Armenia on August 8.
It might not have been shocking that Trump wanted to flaunt his hat collection, but many were surprised to learn he dedicates an entire room to his famous headgear. For anyone familiar with his history, those bright red “Make America Great Again” hats quickly became an unmistakable symbol of his political brand.
During Trump’s first term, the collection was all about the classic red MAGA, but after his 2020 loss and 2024 comeback, the hat game expanded. Variants in different colors and slogans started popping up everywhere. Even Elon Musk seemed determined to try them all during his brief time in the spotlight, including a “Dark MAGA” hat reportedly gifted by the mother of his secret child.
But one of the newest hats on display in the White House has caught attention for a more ominous reason. Its message has left social media buzzing and wondering just what Trump might have up his sleeve in the coming years.
So what set off alarms? Well, a worrying detail appears in the top left of the display: hats bearing the slogan “Trump 2028” seem to hint that the president might be eyeing a third term.
If that were true, it would directly clash with the 22nd Amendment, which clearly states: “No person shall be elected to the office of President more than twice.”
“Sorry, why exactly isn’t this seriously concerning anyone?” writer Allison Floyd asked on X, posting a close-up image of the Trump 2028 hats. The post sparked a flurry of theories about how he could continue to hold power in the U.S.
One concerned reply read, “It definitely concerns me, but it also concerns me if he tries to position one of his children as the successor. If she were interested and used the next three years to gain a footing, Ivanka could possibly be a force.”
A bold prediction
Talk of a “Trump 2028” run isn’t exactly new.
Despite the constitutional two-term limit, Trump hasn’t completely ruled out the possibility of a third term. In an NBC News interview on March 30, he addressed the idea, saying, “A lot of people want me to do it. But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.” He added, “I’m focused on the current.”
While the notion of a “Trump 2028” presidency might sound far-fetched, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon insists it’s a real possibility. Despite the 22nd Amendment explicitly barring anyone from serving more than two terms, Bannon claims Trump and his team are exploring “many different alternatives” to return to office — potentially for a third time.
Bannon made the bold prediction on the Apocalypse Now? podcast, stating Trump would not only run again but “be in the White House signing executive orders” on January 20, 2029. He doubled down in a separate interview with NewsNation, saying, “We have many different alternatives to make sure President Trump… is the President of the United States. And we will roll those out over time.”
The remarks come as unofficial “Trump 2028” merchandise begins circulating, featuring slogans like “Rewrite the Rules,” seemingly hinting at overturning or sidestepping the 22nd Amendment, which was introduced in 1951 after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four-term presidency.
During the Zelenskyy’s White House visit, one scenario emerged when the president noted that Ukraine couldn’t hold elections during an ongoing war. Some observers speculated that Trump might be willing to exploit similar circumstances to extend his presidency — though most agree it would likely take an extreme event, such as an invasion of American soil, to truly prevent a presidential transition.
Whether these warnings are alarmist or a realistic glimpse into the future, one thing is clear: the conversation about “Trump 2028” is only getting louder — and the debate is far from over. What do you think? Will Trump try to run for a third term?
READ MORE
- Why is Donald Trump so orange? An expert thinks she has the answer
- Heartbreaking last words from father killed in shark attack
