The viral camouflage hat sported by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz shortly after he accepted the nomination has raised close to $1 million for the Harris campaign.
A camouflage hat with orange embroidery spelling out "Harris/Walz" hit the official Harris campaign store after Walz was pictured wearing it Tuesday, selling out its initial inventory of 3,000 hats in a half hour and raising nearly $1 million for the campaign, according to a report in the Washington Post.
Walz, who has long publicly touted his hunting ability, has made numerous public appearances over the years sporting a camo hat, making the item a natural fit for the campaign store. The hat also signals the strategy of the Harris campaign, which has sought to highlight Walz’s Midwestern persona in an attempt to solidify support in key swing states and appeal to its rural voters.
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But the hat has also drawn the scorn of critics such as the National Rifle Association (NRA), with the executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action telling the Washington Post that "a camo hat can’t camouflage the fact that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are gun-grabbing radicals who support confiscating firearms from law-abiding hunters and gun owners."
Despite his hunting background, Walz has long advocated for stricter gun laws, and as governor he signed a bill that featured universal background checks and a red-flag law. Vice President Harris has also been a longtime advocate for stronger gun control, including a Rose Garden speech last year in which the vice president called for "passing reasonable gun safety laws."
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"President Biden and I believe in the Second Amendment, but we also know commonsense solutions are at hand," Harris said at the time.
Nevertheless, Emily L. Newman, a professor of art history and liberal studies at Texas A&M University at Commerce, told the Washington Post that the viral hat pairs well with the Walz persona the campaign is trying to highlight, arguing that it lends more credit to his argument for gun regulation.
"I thought it was a great campaign move to cash in on what Walz brings to the campaign, which is this Midwestern sensibility," Newman said. "He’s talked about being a hunter, but then he’s such a staunch advocate for gun control that it’s a great thing to play up for the Democrats."
