In Cultish Cabinet Meeting, Trump Lackeys Hawk 'Gulf Of America' Hats
The members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet sat behind red MAGA-style hats emblazoned with the inaccurate terminology “Gulf of America” during a televised White House meeting held on Wednesday.
While the hats are not available on Trump’s official online store as of the time of writing, he has frequently used his presidency to promote MAGA-branded merchandise. It is just one of many ways that Trump has used his publicly funded office to enrich himself.
The administration has tried to push the rebrand of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” for months and has successfully convinced digital map providers like Google and Apple to display it. But others have resisted, like the Associated Press, which continues to describe the body of water by its historically accurate and globally recognized name. In response, Trump has banned the AP from covering White House events and has been involved in legal wrangling as he attacks freedom of the press.
As if the whole “Gulf of America” hat thing wasn’t absurd enough, billionaire Elon Musk also attended, wearing two different MAGA-style hats on his head. The attention-hungry move follows reports that he will soon step back from his role in steering the unpopular Trump White House.
Elon Musk is wearing two Trump caps on top of each other
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 30, 2025 at 5:45 PM
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Adding to the Cabinet meeting’s cult-like atmosphere, Trump opened the gathering by insisting they share a false reality. Lying, he claimed that it was not his fault that the nation's gross domestic product shrunk in the first quarter of 2025. Instead, he incorrectly blamed former President Joe Biden.
“That’s Biden. That’s not Trump,” Trump complained. “I was very against everything that Biden was doing in terms of the economy, destroying our country.”
In reality, the economy is suffering because of Trump’s chaotic tariff moves. His policies have increased the costs of goods and caused global economic uncertainty. The shrinking economy has virtually nothing to do with the former president.
When Trump took office, the U.S. economy was booming following policies that Biden put in place to recover from the COVID-19-fueled downturn under Trump.
The strange hats and the promotion of a false reality with Trump’s Cabinet of billionaires show evidence of a cult of self-deception. Trump and his team may try to sell a false version of reality to the public, where the Gulf of Mexico is renamed and tariffs are working out—but public opinion polling shows it isn’t working.
Trump is unpopular and so are his ideas, and a red hat isn’t going to make that go away.
Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.
Trump Cabinet Nominee Withdraws Over (Sane) January 6 Comments
Kathleen Sgamma, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Bureau of Land Management, sent shockwaves throughout Washington, D.C., on Thursday after withdrawing her name just hours before her confirmation hearing.
Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah announced Sgamma’s withdrawal at the start of the hearing, but Politico reported that her decision came after investigative outlet Documented published a 2021 memo where the oil and gas lobbyist condemned Trump’s role in spreading misinformation about the January 6, 2021, insurrection.
“I am disgusted by the violence I witnessed yesterday and President Trump’s role in spreading misinformation that incited it. I’m disgusted he discredited all the good work he did reorienting the judiciary back toward respect for the rule of law and constitution by dishonoring the vote of the People and the rulings of those very same judges on his numerous challenges,” the memo quotes Sgamma saying.
Sgamma likely withdrew her nomination not because she’s still upset with Trump, but because the leak of her past comments is embarrassing for both of them. After all, she knew about the Capitol attack when she was nominated and seemed totally on board with Trump’s energy agenda at the time.
While her comments about the insurrection were out of step with today’s GOP, they reflected the outrage that many Republicans shared in the immediate aftermath. And though Sgamma distanced herself from Trump at that time, she’s certainly no liberal—she even contributed to Project 2025.
Trump has continued defending the insurrectionists, calling them “patriots” and even pardoning them on Day 1 of his second term. He’s since doubled down on his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, insisting that anyone who refuses to spread his lies is the real problem. And it seems that Sgamma has now bought into Trump’s propaganda.
“Unfortunately, at this time, I need to withdraw my nomination. I will continue to support President Trump and fight for his agenda to Unleash American Energy in the private sector,” Sgamma said in her resignation statement.
While some Republican senators told Politico they weren’t given a heads-up about the withdrawal, some Trump allies, including former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, suggested that Sgamma’s withdrawal was inevitable.
“Individuals who know their views don’t align with the president… cause needless harm and conflict, hindering the president’s agenda,” he wrote on X.
Sgamma’s resignation marks the third Trump cabinet pick to either withdraw or have their nomination pulled.
Earlier, the White House backed off nominating Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York for United Nations ambassador, fearing losing a reliable GOP vote in their razor-thin House majority. Similarly, David Weldon’s nomination to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was pulled once it became clear he didn’t have the votes to get confirmed.
With the Bureau of Land Management overseeing energy production on federally owned lands—a key part of Trump’s second-term priorities—it remains to be seen whether his energy agenda will take another hit following Sgamma’s withdrawal.
While her decision may have been political, it also highlights the ongoing consequences of the insurrection, raising questions about whether there’s truly a divide between Trump and those who refuse to embrace his false election claims.
Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.