Donald Trump Campaign Manager Says Nearly 1 Million MAGA Hats Sold, and $45 Million Made
President Donald Trump's re-election campaign manager, Brad Parscale, said that the campaign had sold almost a million MAGA hats, citing the milestone as evidence that Trump had redefined the art of electioneering.
Speaking on CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday, Parscale said the key to Trump's appeal was that his supporters felt directly involved in his campaign.
Parscale discussed the Trump campaign tactics with host Margaret Brennan, and said that voters "want to be part of an activity…they want to be involved." One example was the campaign to send House Speaker Nancy Pelosi foam bricks—labeled with donors' names—during the partial federal government shutdown at the start of the year over funding for Trump's long-promised border wall.
Parscale said a tactic like that could earn the campaign between $3 million and $4 million. "It's a way for them, somewhere in the middle of Nebraska, who is so far from the system but wants to be involved. This is a way for them to put $25, $40 dollars and say, 'Look, I want to make a difference.'"
Trump merchandise has become a key manifestation of this strategy, Parscale explained. "We do that with T-shirts, we do that with hats," he said, noting that the controversial MAGA hats that have become synonymous with Trump's base have brought in millions of dollars.
"We're closing in on selling our one millionth red MAGA hat. You know those are 45 bucks a piece. You do the math there really quick, it's $45 million. So those kind of things—this president has changed the game in the way merchandise, rallies, the entire experience of being part of the political movement. He's changed it."
Parscale pointed to the campaign's popularity with so-called "small-dollar donors" as evidence of its success. "Ninety-five percent of all of our money comes in through small dollars," he told Brennan. "One nice thing about small-dollar donations is it lets people connect and know they're buying into the movement. Our prospecting numbers now are numbers people have never seen before."
Republican candidates have traditionally lagged behind their Democratic rivals in small donations—particularly online—so the impressive grassroots donor numbers boasted by Trump's campaign will be a welcome source of encouragement.
Earlier this month, the Trump campaign reported it had gathered more than $30 million in the first quarter of 2019, Reuters reported, giving a total of $40.8 million to spend. This will be added to the $45.8 million raised by the Republican National Committee in the first quarter of 2019.
The two leading Democratic candidates—Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator Kamala Harris of California—have raised $18.2 million and $12 million over the same period, respectively.
The Trump campaign reported an average donation of $34.26 and said that 99 percent of all donations were of $200 or less. This is higher than the average donation to the Sanders campaign, which was $20 in the first quarter of this year.
