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By Flynn Nicholls
US News Reporter
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Several attendees at the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin were sporting fake bandages on their right ears on Tuesday, in solidarity with the party's presidential nominee, Donald Trump.
The former president arrived at the Milwaukee convention on Monday evening with an ear bandage covering the wound inflicted on him by the bullet of his would-be assassin at a Pennsylvania campaign rally two days prior. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, killed one rally attendee and wounded two others before being shot dead by a Secret Service sniper at the scene.
By Tuesday, several attendees were spotted wearing costume bandages on the convention floor, potentially the beginning of a new trend in MAGA [Make America Great Again] merchandise.
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Arizona delegate Joe Neglia, 63, told CBS News that the prop, which he said he made on the bus to the convention, was an homage to the Republican nominee. He called it "the newest fashion trend." Newsweek has contacted Joe Neglia and the Trump campaign team for further comment.
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"It's just in sympathy with Donald Trump," Neglia told U.K. newspaper The Guardian. "I saw that man get shot. I thought that man has almost given his life for his country. He deserves some respect for that."
Trump's arrival at the convention on Monday caused the crowd of delegates to erupt into chants of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" This was in reference to the former president mouthing the words after surviving the attempt on his life on Saturday night. Neglia told Fox News it inspired him to don the bandage.
"Yesterday, when he came in, and there was that eruption of love in the room, I thought, 'What can I do to honor the truth? What can I possibly do?'" Neglia said.
"And then I saw the bandage and I thought, 'I can do that.' So, I put it on simply to honor Trump and to express sympathy with him and unity with him."
Several others were seen wearing the accessory, including Neglia's fellow Arizona delegate Stacey Goodman. Neglia said that the fake bandage could come in a male and a female version, "because there are only two genders!"
When the bullet hit Trump's ear on Saturday, the crowd screamed while the former president ducked under the podium as Secret Service agents swarmed the stage. However, less than a minute later, he stood up, bloodied, and pumped his fist. Trump mouthed "Fight!" to the crowd, who erupted into rapturous applause and chants of "USA!"
The photograph of his defiant reaction was published all over the world and has already begun to appear on merchandise, becoming another symbol of defiance and victory in the MAGA movement.
Trump is no stranger to using symbols on merchandise: he has sold his famous red MAGA hats; released $99 trading cards of his mug shot in Fulton County, Georgia, as well as $399 'Never Surrender' Sneakers; and even brought out $59.99 God Bless the USA Bibles as part of his campaign fundraising.
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