Harris-Walz camo hat goes wildly viral, but does it signal bigger things?

Move over, MAGA hats: Gov. Tim Walz’s camouflage ballcap has entered the chat and it’s quickly becoming the hottest fashion accessory of the summer, having the potential to topple Donald Trump’s stronghold on meme-to-merchandise election wear.

When U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris introduced Walz as her running mate on Tuesday, she celebrated the pick with a reality dating show-inspired Instagram Reel that showed her placing a call to Walz, who picked up on the other end from his St. Paul, Minn., home wearing a pair of khakis and his customary camouflage hat.

“I would be honoured, Madam Vice President,” Walz replied, accepting the invite to become the official Democratic vice-presidential candidate.

A post shared by Kamala Harris (@kamalaharris)

Immediately, the Midwestern dad and former high school football coach spawned what felt like a thousand memes, with supporters comparing him to this moment’s hottest pop star and fellow Midwesterner, Chappell Roan, who is selling a similar hat to fans.

In a nimble move, handily proving they can keep up with internet culture, the Harris-Walz campaign was selling an official camo-print hat in the Harris Victory Fund online store less than 12 hours later, emblazoned with “Harris Walz” text in hunter orange.

Capping off the night. https://t.co/pgF98PaOLr pic.twitter.com/DwAQ4hoKkY

— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) <a href=«https://twitter.com/Tim_Walz/status/1821007276834009480?ref_src=» https:>August 7, 2024

The item’s description read: “You asked, we answered. The most iconic political hat in America.”

Roan herself took notice of the speedy turnaround shortly after, posting an image of the side-by-side comparison of the hats with the caption “Is this real(?)”

is this real https://t.co/4HBBEQuo7q

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