Elon Musk’s blackletter MAGA hat at Trump’s MSG rally draws comparisons to Nazi-era lettering

Musk’s blackletter “Make America Great Again” hat ignites controversy over historical and provocative design choice.

Elon Musk’s recent appearance at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally stirred up controversy, not only for his attendance but for his choice of headwear. 

Sporting a black ‘Make America Great Again’ hat in jagged blackletter style often associated with heavy metal bands, Musk leaned into his “dark gothic MAGA” look, sparking mixed reactions on social media.

The design of Musk’s hat quickly prompted debate over its potential associations with Nazi-era imagery. Some social media users speculated that the lettering resembled Fraktur, a Gothic font used by the Nazis. 

While typeface experts argue the font was not exactly Fraktur, they agree it evokes a certain historical weight. Florian Hardwig, managing editor at Fonts In Use, clarified: “I would characterize the style used on Musk’s cap as a modernized Old English… it is not in the style most commonly associated with Nazism.” 

He added, however, that the association persists: “Members of the general public associate all sorts of blackletter with Nazi Germany, but strictly speaking, the font on the cap is not a Nazi font per se.”

Fully agree with Elon being scum and racist, but this hat is not Fraktur font. It's just some Hot Topic goth font pic.twitter.com/24AY3GvsqT

— tuffy deposter (@LeonardTPants) October 28, 2024

Cheryl Jacobsen, a University of Iowa adjunct professor specializing in lettering, also weighed in on blackletter’s long history, explaining that while it was originally tied to Germany’s folk style, the Nazis later used it for nationalist propaganda. 

Jacobsen noted, “Fraktur is now perceived worldwide as Nazi script, even after its interdiction by the Nazis themselves.” 

In 1941, the Nazis banned the font from official communications, with Hitler himself alleging that it was created by a Jewish individual, though the ban was likely due to readability concerns.

Jacobsen pointed out that Musk’s hat design appears to use Anemouth, a blackletter font developed in 2021, which she described as “a weird bastardized version of [blackletter].”

While the choice of font may seem obscure, it was enough to cause a stir given the rally’s location at Madison Square Garden—a site where a pro-Hitler rally was held in 1939 by the German American Bund, drawing an audience of 20,000. 

Though Musk’s motives remain speculative, some interpret his choice as “provocation,” as Hardwig put it, since blackletter is often associated with “toughness” or “aggressiveness.” 

With Musk’s reputation as a “known provocateur,” as Hardwig described, his decision to wear such a bold style at the Trump rally raises questions of intent. In any case, the designer’s rule rings true: “Objects do not exist without context.”

Set against the historical backdrop of Madison Square Garden, where a 1939 pro-Hitler rally took place, the appearance of Musk’s hat added a layer of controversy. 

Whether the hat’s lettering choice was a nod to the venue’s dark history or simply an attempt to provoke, the choice did not go unnoticed.

Musk is known for his controversial gestures, and many see this choice as a deliberate attention-grabber.