Kamal Ghorui
Has MAGA found a new meaning? Protesters in Denmark have taken to the streets to oppose US President Donald Trump’s rigid push to acquire the Arctic island — Greenland, wearing red baseball caps spoofing his iconic MAGA hats — this time emblazoned with the slogan “Make America Go Away.”MAGA hats have become symbolic of Danish and Greenlandic defiance against the US president’s threat to seize the Arctic territory.The caps reading “Make America Go Away,” a parody of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, have gained popularity on social media and at public protests, including a weekend demonstration in freezing weather in the Danish capital.Several European countries have also joined Denmark and Greenland in pushing back against Donald Trump, stressing the need to defend the Arctic and warning that threats to Greenland undermine Western security.Protesters, however, have been far more blunt.“I want to show my support to Greenland and also show that I don’t like the president of the United States,” ABC news quoted a 76-year-old Copenhagen resident Lars Hermansen, who wore one of the red caps at a protest on Saturday.The mock hats were created by Jesper Rabe Tonnesen, a vintage clothing store owner in Copenhagen. At first, the idea failed, with early batches last year drawing little interest. That changed after the Trump administration recently stepped up its rhetoric over Greenland. Since then, the caps have appeared widely at protests and online.“When a delegation from America went up to Greenland, we started to realize this probably wasn’t a joke — it’s not reality TV, it’s actually reality,” said Tonnesen, 58. “So I said, OK, what can I do? Can I communicate in a funny way with a good message and unite the Danes to show that Danish people support the people of Greenland?”Demand quickly jumped from almost nothing to selling out within a single weekend. Tonnesen said he has now ordered “several thousand” more.The first version of the cap designed by Tonnesen carried a wordplay slogan, “Nu det NUUK!” a twist on the Danish phrase “Nu det nok,” meaning “Now it’s enough,” replacing the word with Nuuk, Greenland’s small capital.At Saturday’s rally, protesters waved red-and-white Danish and Greenlandic flags and held handmade signs mocking US claims over the territory, which is slightly larger than Saudi Arabia.
