After the raised fist in the air, here is the latest rallying sign that galvanizes the supporters of the former American President, during the Republican Convention, echoing the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
It’s a new, unmistakable sign: the bandage on the ear, imitating the one Donald Trump has been wearing since the assassination attempt on him last weekend while he was speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania.
An attack that left the former American President injured in the right ear, and which cost the life of a participant in the rally, following the shooting of Thomas Matthew Crooks, aged 20, shot dead on the spot by a Secret Service sniper.
Since then, the now famous white rectangle has flourished in the stands of the Republican convention, which is currently being held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Supporters are pulling out all the stops to express their solidarity with Donald Trump, from the orthodox woven cotton to the most inventive botched versions.
Joe Neglia, a delegate from Arizona, even said that his “bandage” represented “the latest fashion trend”before adding, during an interview with Fox News: “When (Trump) walked in and there was this outpouring of love in the room, I thought, what can I do to honor the truth? What can I do? Then I saw the bandage and I thought, I can do the same. So I put it on just to honor Trump and to express my sympathy and solidarity with him.”
Ray Michaels, another Arizona delegate, told AP: “We realize this is a tragedy that should never have happened, and we want (Trump) to know that we are going through this with him.”
Texas delegate Jackson Carpenter sees another symbolism in this, telling the Washington Post: “We need a symbol to show that political violence is not acceptable in America.”
The bandage has thus become an essential part of the panoply of Donald Trump’s supporters, who have not hesitated to take up the former President’s words, seeing in this failed attack the irrefutable sign of a “divine intervention”.
A white square that is now associated with the rallying gesture launched by Donald Trump, even as he was being evacuated from the podium by the Secret Service following his injury. A raised fist proclaiming “fight! fight! fight!”, a phrase intended for the crowd, who immediately seized on it. There are also goodies, t-shirts and other accessories that recount the episode experienced by Donald Trump.
But second degree is proving to be much less trendy than hastily applied Band-Aids, since the rock group Tenacious D has attracted criticism after mocking the attempted assassination of the former American President. To the point of having to cancel the rest of its world tour, but also “all his upcoming creative projects”.
Additional sources • AP, CBS News, Fox News
