EconomyAnalysisUpdated 1 day ago

Price of red MAGA hat rises to $55 from $25, analysis of archived pages finds

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, all left-leaning.

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

The Daily Beast, The Independent and HuffPost report, citing an analysis by The Washington Sun, that the price of a red Make America Great Again hat has risen from $25 about a decade ago to $55 now. The Washington Sun compared archived web pages from the Wayback Machine. HuffPost reports the hat is listed at $55 on the Trump Organization website and at $40 in the online store of Trump’s political action committee. The Independent reports a Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos poll putting Trump’s approval rating at 33 percent. The outlets link the higher prices to inflation and the cost of living.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

New to Mantle? It shows who is covering each story across the political spectrum, and highlights loaded words. How to read a storyHide the guide

The coverage spectrum counts the outlets covering a story at each of five points. A short or missing segment means that part of the spectrum is mostly quiet.

Governor Loaded verb“slams”It adds drama to what was said. The governor criticized the lawmakers; “slams” makes it sound like a fight.More neutral: criticizes lawmakers over budget delay

Highlights mark words that carry a judgement. Tap one to see why, and what a neutral writer would say. Here it is “criticizes”.

The 5-point spectrum

Far Left
Voices that strongly advocate for progressive policies and systemic change.
Left
Mainstream liberal perspectives focusing on social equality and regulation.
Center
Sources that prioritize neutral reporting and balanced viewpoints.
Right
Mainstream conservative perspectives focusing on market freedom and tradition.
Far Right
Voices that strongly advocate for conservative values and limited government.

How we measure bias

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

The price of a red MAGA hat rose from $25 about a decade ago to $55, according to an analysis by The Washington Sun using archived web pages.
One side only: the leftReported byFar Left2Left1See the outletsHide the outlets
Far Left
The Daily Beast, HuffPost
Left
The Independent
The MAGA hat is listed at $55 on the Trump Organization website and at $40 in the online store of Trump’s political action committee.
One outletHuffPost· Far Left
A Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos poll put Trump’s approval rating at 33 percent.
One outletThe Independent· Left
Inflation stands at 3.7 percent.
One outletThe Independent· Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three supplied articles are from left-side outlets and report that the price of a red MAGA hat has roughly doubled since Trump’s first campaign, tying the rise to inflation and to the cost of living.

the left
3 outlets
Left headlines present the rising hat prices as proof that inflation is hitting Trump’s own supporters, with the Far Left outlets using harsher wording such as Brutal and Exposed.
Inflation has hit a new group of goods: Trump merch
The IndependentLeftAll left-leaning headlines
the center
No coverage yet
No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
the right
No coverage yet
No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Left4
devastatingBrutalExposedeyebrow-raising
Center
Has not covered this story.
Right
Has not covered this story.

In the outlets’ own words

Sensational language
devastatingMore neutral: higher
The adjective adds a judgement about the severity of the price rises without giving a measure of it.
Even the most ardent of Donald Trump supporters aren’t being spared the devastating price hikes and inflation seen during the president’s second term.
Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)
Sensational language
BrutalMore neutral: Price Hike
The word adds an emotional judgement about the price rise that the price figures do not state.
Trump’s Brutal Price Hike on MAGA Faithful Exposed
Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)
Loaded verb
ExposedMore neutral: Shown
The word implies that the price rise was hidden and revealed, which the supplied text does not establish.
Trump’s Brutal Price Hike on MAGA Faithful Exposed
Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)
Sensational language
eyebrow-raisingMore neutral: large
The phrase adds the writer’s reaction to the price figure rather than describing the change itself.
That’s an eyebrow-raising leap from the price of the caps back in 2015, when they went for $25 apiece in…
Used byHuffPost (Far Left)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

3 outlets

Leads with

Price rise of MAGA hats from $25 to $55
Inflation hitting Trump’s own supporters
Broader cost-of-living squeeze

See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

HuffPostFar Left
Trump’s Inflation Problem Is Now Hitting MAGA Supporters In An Unexpected Way
Trump promised economic relief to his base, but this rising cost tells a different story.
1 day agoRead at HuffPost (opens in a new tab)
The IndependentLeft
Inflation has hit a new group of goods: Trump merch
Price hikes mean President Donald Trump’s signature red MAGA cap is now retailing for $55, up from $25 a decade ago, according to new analysis
1 day agoRead at The Independent (opens in a new tab)
The Daily BeastFar Left
Trump’s Sensational language“Brutal”The word adds an emotional judgement about the price rise that the price figures do not state.More neutral: Price HikeDisagree with this highlight? Price Hike on MAGA Faithful Loaded verb“Exposed”The word implies that the price rise was hidden and revealed, which the supplied text does not establish.More neutral: ShownDisagree with this highlight?
Even the most ardent of Donald Trump supporters aren’t being spared the Sensational language“devastating”The adjective adds a judgement about the severity of the price rises without giving a measure of it.More neutral: higherDisagree with this highlight? price hikes and inflation seen during the president’s second term. …
1 day agoRead at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

Left
First to report
The Daily Beast, Oct 20, 9:09 AM EDT
Center
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows
Right
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order

The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 20, 9:09 AM EDT
The IndependentLeftOct 20, 12:04 PM EDT
HuffPostFar LeftOct 20, 1:06 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Price of red MAGA hat rises to $55 from $25, analysis of archived pages finds

Coverage spectrum

Key points

Compare views

the left

the center

the right

Language to notice

In the outlets’ own words

Side by side

From the left

Trump’s Inflation Problem Is Now Hitting MAGA Supporters In An Unexpected Way

Inflation has hit a new group of goods: Trump merch

From the center

From the right

How the coverage built up

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