Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ Hat Is Already Sold Out
Maybe it’s just another lesson in the art of the deal.
Donald Trump had the Internet flipping out — again — on his visit to the Mexican border last week by covering his signature orange coif with an ill-fitting white cap emblazoned with his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again” — a slogan made famous by Ronald Reagan but recently trademarked by Trump.
Related: Trump Just Showed Why His Campaign Is Doomed
While Trump’s campaign website doesn’t yet have a store, the hats quickly went on sale at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan, a destination for tourists and some Fifth Avenue shoppers. The hats are available for $20 in a choice of red, blue or the white version Trump wore.
Or make that were available. As of Monday, the initial order of the Republican presidential candidate’s caps were sold out. A salesperson said the store expected to have them back in stock by the end of the week. In the meantime, the store still had plenty of $15 “Make America Great Again” t-shirts for sale. And if you’re really desperate to get your hands on Trump’s new lid, there are plenty of knockoffs popping up online.
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Budget ‘Chaos’ Threatens Army Reset: Retired General
One thing is standing in the way of a major ongoing effort to reset the U.S. Army, writes Carter Ham, a retired four-star general who’s now president and CEO of the Association of the U.S. Army, at Defense One. “The problem is the Washington, D.C., budget quagmire.”
The issue is more than just a matter of funding levels. “What hurts more is the erratic, unreliable and downright harmful federal budget process,” which has forced the Army to plan based on stopgap “continuing resolutions” instead of approved budgets for nine straight fiscal years. “A slowdown in combat-related training, production delays in new weapons, and a postponement of increases in Army troop levels are among the immediate impacts of operating under this ill-named continuing resolution. It’s not continuous and it certainly doesn’t display resolve.”
Pentagon Pushes for Faster F-35 Cost Cuts
The Pentagon has taken over cost-cutting efforts for the F-35 program, which has been plagued by years of cost overruns, production delays and technical problems. The Defense Department rejected a cost-saving plan proposed by contractors including principal manufacturer Lockheed Martin as being too slow to produce substantial savings. Instead, it gave Lockheed a $60 million contract “to pursue further efficiency measures, with more oversight of how the money was spent,” The Wall Street Journal’s Doug Cameron reports. F-35 program leaders “say they want more of the cost-saving effort directed at smaller suppliers that haven’t been pressured enough.” The Pentagon plans to cut the price of the F-35A model used by the Air Force from a recent $94.6 million each to around $80 million by 2020. Overall, the price of developing the F-35 has climbed above $400 billion, with the total program cost now projected at $1.53 trillion. (Wall Street Journal, CNBC)
Chart of the Day - October 6, 2017
Financial performance for insurers in the individual Obamacare markets is improving, driven by higher premiums and slower growth in claims. This suggests that the market is stabilizing. (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Quote of the Day - October 5, 2017
"The train's left the station, and if you're a budget hawk, you were left at the station." -- Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C.