On August 18, 2025, the White House played host to a summit that was supposed to focus on one of the gravest issues facing Europe and the world: the ongoing war in Ukraine. Seven European leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., hoping to hash out a path toward peace as the conflict with Russia continued to rage. Yet, in a surprising twist, the spotlight shifted from geopolitical strategy to a display of presidential memorabilia—specifically, Donald Trump’s extensive collection of “Make America Great Again” hats.
According to OK! Magazine, the gathering began with a serious tone. President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office to discuss the war’s latest developments and possible peace initiatives. Shortly after, French President Emmanuel Macron joined the pair in the State Dining Room for a lengthy, hour-long meeting. The agenda was packed with urgent matters, but the mood took an unexpected turn when Trump led Zelensky and Macron to a side area of the White House, where his MAGA hat collection was prominently displayed beneath a sparkling crystal chandelier.
Trump’s hat display was no ordinary campaign swag. The collection included a red cap emblazoned with “4 More Years,” another reading “Trump 2028,” and others with slogans such as “Trump Was Right About Everything” and “Gulf of America.” The display was reportedly so striking that Margo Martin, Trump’s special assistant and communications adviser, snapped a photo and shared it online, capturing the moment when world leaders found themselves admiring—not military strategy or diplomatic achievements—but a lineup of campaign hats.
This detour from the weighty business of war negotiations did not go unnoticed. Social media lit up almost instantly as the images circulated, with critics quick to pounce. One user, cited by OK! Magazine, wondered aloud, “What kind of world leader gives foreign presidents a tour of his hat collection?” Others chimed in with more pointed remarks, calling the episode “embarrassing” and dubbing Trump a “narcissist.” As one critic put it, “We’re dealing with a potential WWIII & Trump is hawking his cheap a-- trucker hats to world leaders. How is 2025 real?”
The backlash was not limited to anonymous internet users. The timing of Trump’s hat display, coming as leaders were supposed to be forging a strategy for peace, struck many as tone-deaf. The fact that some of the hats—like the “4 More Years” and “Trump 2028” caps—seemed to flirt with the idea of a third presidential term only added fuel to the fire. As OK! Magazine noted, the U.S. Constitution explicitly prohibits any president from serving more than two terms, making such slogans not just provocative but constitutionally impossible.
While the hat collection attracted ridicule, it also reflected a deeper trend in American politics: the enduring power of Trump’s personal brand. According to recent polling data compiled by Reuters/Ipsos and reported by Forbes, Trump’s approval rating in mid-August 2025 stood at a steady 40%—a low point for his second term, but not far off from his 42% average in his first term, as measured by Gallup. Disapproval, however, hovered above 50% in nearly every major poll, with the Reuters/Ipsos survey showing 54% of respondents saying Trump is too closely aligned with Russia. That poll was conducted after Trump’s August 15 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin but before the infamous hat display with Zelensky and Macron.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has been a persistent source of controversy for Trump. After his meeting with Putin, Trump publicly supported the Russian leader’s call for an end to the war, rather than a cease-fire, and backed away from earlier promises to impose consequences on Russia if it did not cooperate. This stance drew criticism both domestically and abroad, with a notable 54% of Americans surveyed by Reuters/Ipsos saying Trump was too friendly with Russia—even one in five Republicans agreed with that assessment.
Other polls conducted around the same period echoed these findings. Morning Consult’s weekly survey showed Trump’s approval rating fluctuating between 40% and 47%, with disapproval rates consistently above 50%. An Economist/YouGov poll from August 1-4, 2025, reported 51% disapproval and 41% approval, while a UMass poll from late July showed Trump at 38% approval and 58% disapproval. The numbers, while not catastrophic, signaled persistent skepticism about Trump’s foreign policy and leadership style.
Public perception of Trump’s handling of other controversies has also been dim. According to The Economist/YouGov, a majority of Americans believe the federal government is covering up evidence related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, and 60% disapprove of Trump’s response to the matter. The president’s approval ratings on key issues—ranging from immigration to jobs and civil rights—have generally declined, with some polls noting especially sharp drops in areas like immigration.
Yet, despite the criticism and the polls, Trump’s core supporters remain loyal. NBC polling highlighted by Forbes shows that the share of registered voters identifying with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement has actually increased during his second term, reaching 36% in March 2025, up from an average of 23% in earlier polls. This enduring base may explain why Trump continues to lean so heavily into his personal brand, even during high-stakes diplomatic events.
The hat episode is just the latest in a string of headline-grabbing moments from Trump’s second term. Earlier in August, he met with Putin for the first time in six years, hoping to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war. His administration has also been marked by sweeping policy moves, such as launching a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities—an action that led to a cease-fire between Iran and Israel—and pushing through legislation to extend his 2017 tax cuts and tighten border control. Not all of these moves have been popular; Trump’s approval ratings have generally declined since the start of his second term, especially after the announcement of broad “Liberation Day” tariffs targeting nearly all U.S. trading partners.
For many observers, the hat display was more than a moment of comic relief or fodder for late-night talk shows—it was a symbol of the Trump era’s unique blend of showmanship and controversy. As one critic put it online, “Yes, world leaders came all the way to America just so they can see Trump merch being hawked out of the WH! I’m sure it’s a first for them, and they weren’t impressed!”
As the White House summit concluded, the world was left to wonder whether the focus on hats had overshadowed the urgent business of peace. The episode underscored the enduring tension in Trump’s presidency between spectacle and substance, and the way even the most serious moments can be transformed—sometimes for better, sometimes for worse—by the power of personal branding.
In the end, the sight of world leaders gathered beneath a crystal chandelier, gazing at a shelf of red hats, may linger in the public imagination long after the policy debates have faded.
