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The Kamala Harris-Tim Walz camouflage “midwest princess” hat, seemingly inspired by singer Chappell Roan, has reached nearly $1m in sales in 24 hours.
On August 6, Vice President Harris declared the Minnesota governor as her Democratic running mate for the 2024 presidential election this November. In the official announcement video posted by Harris, an ecstatic Walz was featured, celebrating his bid as her vice president candidate from the comfort of his home. The 60-year-old politician dressed in a simple outfit: a black T-shirt, khaki bottoms, and a camouflage baseball cap.
When the video was released, social media-goers quickly compared Walz’s accessory to token merchandise sold by the famed singer, Chappell Roan. The “Good Luck, Babe” has offered her fans a camouflage hat with “MIDWEST PRINCESS” embroidered in orange block letters across the top, and now, Harris and Walz have put their spin on the iconic cap make-up.
After pleas for Harris and Walz to design their own inspired by their beloved artist, the Democratic National Committee gave the people what they wanted. “For all the midwest princesses out there - you asked, we answered,” Hester Leyser, director of strategic planning for mobilization for the DNC, wrote online.
Next to a picture of the hat, account Kamala HQ wrote on X: “New merch just dropped.”
The $40 “Harris-Walz Camo Hat” is available on the campaign’s website. According to Teen Vogue, 3,000 hats were sold within 30 minutes of the sale going live. Since then, sales have amounted to nearly $1m, according to Teen Vogue’s report.
On the website, the hat is said to be “American made, union made” and all profits go to the Harris Victory Fund. “The most iconic political hat in America,” the description reads. And Bon Iver thinks so as well. The iconic musician was photographed wearing it on stage at a Harris-Walz campaign rally in Wisconisn on August 7.
“The branding coming out of this campaign is unreal,” another X user exclaimed after the hat was released.
For weeks, the Harris campaign has been streamlining Generation Z’s affinity for meme culture and all things “Brat.” What began as Charli XCX’s Brat album movement, the liberation of party girls, has become a power play in the Harris campaign.
Shortly after Harris was announced as President Joe Biden’s replacement in the 2024 election, Charli XCX took to X to confirm “Kamala IS brat.” With over 54.4 million views on the app, internet users fused the elements of Brat with Harris’ most iconic moments, specifically her “coconut tree” reference she made in her speech for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics.
Videos of Harris were played over Charli XCX’s new hit songs with recordings of her speech pasted in between. The album cover’s art, black block letters against a bright green background, was utilized in montages of the new Democratic nominee.
