NEWS AND OPINION:

The classic red “MAGA” hat remains a mainstay for former President Donald Trump — beloved by his fans and a fixture in both his previous campaigns for president and his current reelection push.

The MAGA hat population, however, has expanded considerably since those early days. There are now eight different versions offered by the Trump campaign. In true Trump style, each one of them has a distinguished name and appearance. Here they are, verbatim from the source:

There’s the MAGA 47 Red Hat; Trump-Vance Make America Great Again White Hat; Never Surrender Black MAGA Hat; MAGA 45-47 Camo Hat; Trump Was Right About Everything Red Hat; Thin Blue Line MAGA Hat; Red, White and Blue MAGA Hat; and last, but certainly not least, the MAGA Freedom Hat.

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The campaign also notes that all the items being sold — hats, shirts and much more — are made in the U.S.

Find Mr. Trump’s campaign site at donaldjtrump.com, specifically the “Shop” section.

MEANWHILE IN TEXAS

The Lone Star State has an update for us regarding activities on the southern U.S. border.

“Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard continue to work together to secure the border; stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas; and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal activity between ports of entry,” the governor’s office reported in a statement Friday.

“Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 516,600 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 45,500 criminal arrests, with more than 39,500 felony charges. In the fight against the fentanyl crisis, Texas law enforcement has seized over 506 million lethal doses of fentanyl, enough to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States and Mexico combined during this border mission,” the statement noted.

But wait, there’s more.

“Texas has also transported over 12,500 migrants to Washington, D.C. since April 2022, over 45,900 migrants to New York City since August 2022, over 36,900 migrants to Chicago since August 2022, over 3,400 migrants to Philadelphia since November 2022, over 19,200 migrants to Denver since May 2023

And over 1,500 migrants to Los Angeles since June 2023,” the statement continued.

“Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps created by the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border. Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Joe Biden’s open border policies,” it concluded.

MR. GORE STEPS UP

Was it inevitable? Former Vice President Al Gore has formally endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid for the White House.

“As a prosecutor, Kamala Harris took on Big Oil companies – and won. As Vice President, she cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the most significant investment in climate solutions in history, the Inflation Reduction Act. That’s the kind of climate champion we need in the White House,” Mr. Gore said in a written statement released by the Harris campaign on Sunday

“With so much at stake in this year’s election – from strengthening democracy in the U.S. and abroad, to expanding opportunity for the American people, to accelerating climate action – I’m proud to endorse Kamala Harris for president,” Mr. Gore noted.

There’s more climate-related support for Ms. Harris.

“The environmental groups endorsing Harris for President include the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, the Sierra Club, the NRDC Action Fund, and Clean Energy for America Action,” the campaign said in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

ON THE RADAR

Here’s an event of note, to be presented at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute in Simi Valley, California, in conjunction with an exhibit titled “Defending America & the Galaxy: Star Wars and SDI.”

Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, director of the Missile Defense Agency, will discuss the agency itself and its daily role in protecting the nation’s security. The date is Thursday, the time is 6 p.m. PDT.

“The Missile Defense Agency’s program is structured to respond to existing and emerging missile threats to the United States, its forward deployed forces, allies, and friends around the world,” according to a public mission statement.

“MDA’s global mission is to develop, test, field, and sustain integrated, layered missile defense capabilities to defend the United States, its deployed forces, allies and friends against missile attacks in all phases of flight. Lt. Gen. Collins directs the $11 billion global organization with more than 9,000 military, civilian and contract personnel,” noted an advisory from the host organization.

Gen. Collins’ appearance will be livestreamed at ReaganFoundation.org; check under “Upcoming Events” at the site; also consult YouTube at the account @ReaganFoundation.

Meanwhile, here’s a reminder about a pivotal speech which Reagan gave back in the day and what was to follow:

“On March 23, 1983, in a televised address to the nation, President Reagan announced his intention to embark upon groundbreaking research into a national defense system that could make nuclear weapons obsolete. At the heart of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was the development of a space-based missile defense program that could protect America from a large-scale nuclear attack. Flash forward to today, and now our country has the Missile Defense Agency to develop and deploy a system to defend the United States and its allies - exactly what President Reagan envisioned 40 years ago,” the Reagan Foundation said in a statement.

POLL DU JOUR

• 36% of U.S. adults are “not enthusiastic at all” about Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate for U.S. president.

• 75% of Republicans, 33% of independents and 4% of Democrats agree.

• 14% are “not so enthusiastic” about Ms. Harris as the candidate.

• 13% of Republicans, 18% of independents and 8% of Democrats agree.

• 19% overall are “somewhat enthusiastic.”

• 8% of Republicans, 25% of independents and 25% of Democrats agree.

• 29% overall are “very enthusiastic.”

• 4% of Republicans, 24% of independents and 63% of Democrats agree.

SOURCE: An ABC News/Ipsos poll of 1,200 U.S. adults conducted online July 26-27.

• Contact Jennifer Harper at jharper@washingtontimes.com.