Trump Supporters Wearing Ear Bandages

About

Trump Supporters Wearing Ear Bandages refers to a trend of Donald Trump fans and supporters wearing white gauze bandages over their right ears in imitation of the former President following the assassination attempt against him in mid-July 2024 in which a bullet grazed his ear. The practice was widely discussed and memed, particularly around the 2024 Republican National Convention, with many online and in the media seeing it as a concerning type of semi-religious devotion to Trump. The trend is also notably similar to the phenomenon of Trump supporters wearing diapers.

Origin

Donald Trump was shot in the ear on July 13th, 2024, during a rally in Pennsylvania. He arrived at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee the next week, on July 16th, wearing a large, rectangular bandage over his right ear.

The next night, on July 17th, journalists captured images and videos of convention attendees wearing bandages in imitation of Trump. Outlets like The Hill, The Washington Post, CBS News and AFP talked to dozens of Trump supporters wearing various forms of bandages.^[1]

On July 18th, 2024, The Hill posted a video (seen below) of people wearing bandages at the convention, which received over 49 million views and 6,300 likes in a day.^[2] Reportedly, the trend started with the Arizona delegation and then spread to delegates from other states.^[4]

Spread

Many posters and commenters compared the fashion trend to a form of religious devotion. For example, X user @dumbmailguy posted on July 18th, 2024 (seen below), comparing the practice to the Christian rite of Ash Wednesday, earning over 23,000 likes in a day.^[3]

Others criticized the ear bandages from a political angle, including X user @wideofthepost who earned 658,000 likes in one day on July 17th for comparing the willingness of Trump delegates to wear bandages to the unwillingness (among some) to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, earning over 658,000 likes in one day (seen below).^[5]

This theme of comparing the ear bandage as a marker of partisan allegiance to the face mask was also present in posting about the ear bandages on Truth Social, such as the post (seen below) by user @DougBillings, which received over 100 likes in a day on July 17th, 2024.^[6]

Related Memes

Trump Supporters Wearing Diapers

Trump Supporters Wearing Diapers and Real Men Wear Diapers refer to a political phenomenon of Donald Trump and MAGA supporters championing the former President wearing adult diapers at Trump 2024 rallies and protests, using the catchphrase "Real Men Wear Diapers," which appears on T-shirts, banners and flags. Another prevalent slogan was "Diapers Over Dems." Some MAGA supporters even wore adult diapers with Trump's face on them at the rallies. The phenomenon was widely documented in mid-2024, following a viral post from the blog Dispatches From Trumpland that included photographs from a Pennsylvania Trump Rally. The photos and memes spread on Twitter / X in May 2024.

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References