Trump-style ear bandages are new trend at Republican National Convention

News | July 18, 2024
A combo shows Republican presidential nominee Trump with a bandaged ear after he was injured in an assassination attempt, and supporters and attendees wearing bandages over their ears in tribute to Trump during the RNC

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) – At the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, a fashion trend with a difference has emerged — fake ear bandages, donned by attendees as a symbolic gesture of support for Donald Trump.

Trump has appeared at the convention wearing a large bandage where a would-be assassin’s bullet grazed his right ear at a rally on Saturday.

“We’re helping President Trump set a new fashion statement,” said Arizona delegate Susan Ellsworth. “We’re standing in solidarity with him for his wound. And we just want him to know how much we love him.”

The four-day convention will culminate with a prime-time address by Trump on Thursday, when he formally accepts the party’s nomination to face Democrat Joe Biden in a rematch of their 2020 race.

Delegate Michael Schafer, sporting a bandage taped to his right ear, said the trend was not quite the same as the ubiquitous red “Make America Great Again” hat.

“I think it’s something that’s of the moment,” he said.

(Reporting by Kevin Fogarty, Sharon Reich and Jane Ross; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Lisa Shumaker)