President Donald Trump is hawking a new $50 hat emblazoned with the slogan “American Dreamer.”
At first, the navy blue headwear sold on Trump’s official website may appear inoffensive. But the slogan actually references a particularly divisive line from Trump’s first State of the Union speech in January, which critics described as “a racist dog-whistle against immigrants.”
During his address to Congress, Trump doubled down on his administration’s uncompromising immigration policies and said it was his duty was “to defend Americans, to protect their safety, their families, their communities and their right to the American Dream. Because Americans are dreamers, too.”
Some perceived the statement as a swipe at Dreamers, the children of undocumented immigrants who were previously protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Trump terminated the program in September 2017 and Congress has yet to agree on a substitute.
The “Americans are dreamers, too” line was also endorsed by white nationalist Richard Spencer and former KKK grand wizard David Duke.
The fact that Trump is now attempting to cash in on the phrase has not gone over well on Twitter: