BY ROSEMARY
Bright red baseball caps modeled on Donald Trump’s signature campaign headwear have emerged as an unlikely emblem of protest in Denmark and Greenland, transforming satire into a pointed political statement against the U.S. president’s renewed threats to seize the vast Arctic territory.
The caps, emblazoned with the phrase “Make America Go Away,” parody Trump’s familiar “Make America Great Again” slogan and have spread rapidly across social media, public demonstrations and everyday street wear. What began as a tongue-in-cheek fashion item has become a visible symbol of defiance as tensions rise over Greenland, the autonomous Danish territory that Trump has repeatedly said the United States should control.
The hats were on prominent display over the weekend at a protest in Copenhagen, where demonstrators gathered despite freezing temperatures to express solidarity with Greenland and opposition to Washington’s rhetoric. European leaders have struck a more cautious tone, publicly backing Denmark while emphasizing the strategic importance of the Arctic and warning that threats against Greenland risk undermining Western unity and security. On the streets, however, protesters were far less restrained.
“I want to show my support to Greenland and also show that I don’t like the president of the United States,” said Lars Hermansen, a 76-year-old Copenhagen resident who wore one of the red caps at Saturday’s rally. Around him, others snapped photos, waved flags and shared the images online, helping fuel the hats’ growing popularity.
The mock caps were created by Jesper Rabe Tonnesen, a 58-year-old owner of a vintage clothing store in Copenhagen. Tonnesen said he first designed the hats last year as a playful political commentary, but early batches barely sold. That changed dramatically when the Trump administration intensified its statements about Greenland, including high-profile visits and renewed talk of U.S. control.
“When a delegation from America went up to Greenland, we started to realize this probably wasn’t a joke,” Tonnesen said. “It’s not reality TV — it’s actually reality. So I said, OK, what can I do? Can I communicate in a funny way with a good message and unite the Danes to show that Danish people support the people of Greenland?”
The answer, it turned out, was a simple slogan stitched onto a familiar silhouette. Demand surged almost overnight, with Tonnesen selling out in a single weekend. He has since ordered several thousand more caps to keep up with requests from customers in Denmark, Greenland and beyond.
One of the earliest designs carried a more local twist, reading “Nu det NUUK!” — a wordplay on the Danish phrase “Nu det nok,” meaning “Now it’s enough,” by swapping in Nuuk, Greenland’s small capital. As the movement grew, additional variations appeared, each riffing on Trump’s original slogan while delivering a message of rejection.
At Saturday’s demonstration, protesters waved Danish and Greenlandic flags in red and white and held handmade signs poking fun at U.S. claims over the island, which is slightly larger than Saudi Arabia but home to fewer than 60,000 people. One sign read “No Means No,” while another urged, “Make America Smart Again.”
For many in attendance, the humor softened the tone without diluting the seriousness of the moment. Kristian Boye, a 49-year-old protester wearing one of the spoof caps, said the gathering struck a balance between levity and alarm.
“I’m here to support the Greenlanders, who are going through a very hard time right now,” Boye said. “They are being threatened with having their country invaded. I think it’s totally unacceptable.”
As diplomatic conversations continue behind closed doors, the red caps have taken on a life of their own, offering ordinary citizens a way to register dissent, express solidarity and, through satire, push back against a geopolitical dispute that many fear is no longer merely rhetorical.
Original article
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