Well-fitted suits, pearls and ‘the same’ red tie: What Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’s fashion tells us about them
The style choices of politicians have long been scrutinised by voters and the media.
Women have historically been subject to more inspection for their looks than men.
But all politicians are communicating through their style, according to two experts.
“We receive most of our information, many of us, through screens and through the visuals,” says Hazel Clark, professor of design and fashion at the Parsons School of Design in New York.
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has been leaning into trouser suits.
Ms Harris arrives to board Air Force Two in New York. Pic: AP
Ms Harris during a debate with Mr Trump. Pic: AP
“The well-fitted suit, the more masculine suit, is telling voters that she is not a politician’s wife, she is not the president’s wife, she is the president,” says Deirdre Clemente, professor of history at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.
She wore a dark suit to make her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
The presidential hopeful wore a dark suit to make her acceptance speech at the DNC. Pic: AP
The look “gives that sense of the legal profession, judges and authority. I think it was just saying ‘I’m here to be taken seriously, I can be your leader’,” says Ms Clark.
Many of the audience were wearing white, thought to be a reference to the suffragettes, who fought for women to have vote.
Many DNC audience members wore white as Kamala Harris made her acceptance speech. Pic: Reuters
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris wore a dark navy or black suit to make her acceptance speech at the DNC. Pic: Reuters
“I think there’s a lot of weight in the choice of white in the audience of the DNC that night and her choice of a black suit was a power move,” Ms Clemente said.
Donald Trump has had a consistent style for many years – he’s known for his dark blue suit and silky red tie.
Donald Trump at his 2017 inauguration. Pic: AP
Donald Trump speaks during a presidential debate with vice president Kamala Harris. Pic: AP
“He seems to have been wearing the same red tie since the 1970s. It seems to have gotten longer,” said Ms Clemente.
“It is his way of projecting power, confidence and stability.”
And his vice presidential pick JD Vance seems to have adapted his style to match.
Donald Trump with Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance at the Republican National Convention. Pic: AP
“It’s putting on a uniform to say we are all one, we are all following this person. I think sameness, perhaps, with the party as well,” said Ms Clark.
“With Trump it’s almost become like a costume now.”
Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance have been seen wearing similar clothing. Pic: Reuters
Harris often wears a pearl necklace, a reference to her college sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, which was founded by black women at Howard University.
Kamala Harris wearing a pearl necklace in 2010. Pic: AP
“Her wearing of the necklace is absolutely a shout-out to all the women who have supported her and that sorority is central to that,” said Ms Clemente.
The vice president is also known for her love of Converse shoes.
Vice president Kamala Harris wearing Converse shoes as she arrives to speak at a campaign event. Pic: AP
The trainers, which are associated with American basketball culture, “are a powerful cultural tool because what she’s saying is these shoes are just like the ones you have in your closet”.
Vice president Kamala Harris speaks on the final day of the Democratic National Convention. Pic: AP
Mr Trump and his supporters often wear the instantly recognisable red Make America Great Again baseball cap.
“The MAGA hat has an incredible amount of power, especially here in battleground states,” said Ms Clemente. “You see MAGA hats all around.”
Donald Trump wearing a red MAGA hat in 2016 in Arizona. Pic: AP
Baseball caps are “ubiquitous in being used to signify something, it’s like having a slogan on your t-shirt”, says Ms Clark.
One accessory all US politicians are rarely seen without is an American flag pin badge on their lapel, which can be used to show patriotism.
It may also project a message that “we are all fighting for the same team” despite political differences, said Ms Clemente.
Three people have been critically injured after a helicopter crash in Sacramento, according to the Californian city’s fire department.
Images from the scene show a medical helicopter lying upside down on the eastbound lanes of Highway 50.
The helicopter had taken a patient to a hospital and was returning to the place it had been dispatched from when it experienced an “in-air emergency” just after 7pm local time (3am UK time), according to Captain Justin Sylvia, from the Sacramento Fire Department.
He said there were a pilot, nurse, and paramedic on board at the time of the crash, who were taken to local hospitals in “critical condition”. Mr Sylvia said the crew consisted of two women and one man.
The helicopter could be seen lying upside down after the crash
One of the women was trapped underneath the helicopter, with civilians on the highway helping the fire department to lift part of the helicopter out of the way to free the victim and get her into an ambulance.
“It took every ounce of all approximately 15 people to move that aircraft up just enough to get her out,” Mr Sylvia said at a news conference.
He added: “There’s a pretty large debris field around that at this point. The lucky portion for us, I’d say, is the fact that the helicopter did not catch on fire.”
Captain Justin Sylvia from the Sacramento Fire Department said people helped free an injured person trapped under the helicopter
No vehicles were involved in the crash and no one on the highway was injured, Mr Sylvia said, adding that this was “mind-blowing” given that the helicopter crashed in the centre of the road.
“People reported that they basically saw the helicopter kind of going down quickly. So all the traffic slowed down,” he explained.
Sacramento City councilwoman Lisa Kaplan said she was on a ride-along with local law enforcement responding to the crash.
Law enforcement officers stand near the wreckage of the helicopter. Pic: AP
She described plumes of white smoke coming out of the crashed helicopter.
“It’s really sombering and sobering. I am up flying with sheriff pilots that do this day in and day out. And it really makes you grateful for every day and grateful for our officers and our medical pilots,” she said.
The road is expected to be closed for an extended time, according to Officer Michael Harper, a spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol.
The helicopter could be seen lying on its side after the crash
“The cause of the crash is still under investigation,” his colleague, Officer Mike Carillo, added.
Read more from Sky News:
US Supreme Court rejects Maxwell’s appeal request
Is another spectacular Bitcoin comedown inevitable?
The helicopter appears to belong to REACH Air Medical Services, which confirmed to ABC7 that three of its crew were hurt in the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The US Supreme Court has rejected an appeal request from Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned ex-girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, over her criminal conviction.
Maxwell was sentenced in June 2022 to 20 years in prison after being convicted in December 2021 on sex trafficking charges.
Her lawyers argued she never should have been tried or convicted for her role in luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.
Undated picture of Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: US Department of Justice
Undated picture of Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: US Department of Justice
The nine justices declined to take up a case that would have drawn renewed attention to the sexual-abuse saga.
US President Donald Trump and his administration, which urged the court not to accept the case, have been condemned for refusing to publicly release all the files from Epstein’s case.
Maxwell was moved from a low-security federal prison in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas after she was interviewed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump and Epstein statue appears outside US Capitol
As usual, the justices on the highest court in the US did not explain why they turned down the appeal.
Maxwell’s legal team argued she shouldn’t have faced prosecution because of a deal that Epstein, who took his own life while in prison in 2019, made with federal prosecutors in Miami.
The 2007 agreement protected his “potential co-conspirators” from federal charges anywhere in the country, they said.
Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida with Jeffrey Epstein in 1997. Pic: Getty Images
Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: New York State Sex Offender Registry/AP
Maxwell was prosecuted in Manhattan, and the federal appeals court there ruled that the prosecution was proper.
A jury found her guilty of sex trafficking a teenage girl, among other charges.
Maxwell was given limited immunity when Mr Blanche interviewed her over the summer, allowing her to speak freely without fear of prosecution for anything she said except for in the event of a false statement.
She repeatedly denied seeing any sexually inappropriate interactions involving Mr Trump, according to records released in August meant to distance the president from the disgraced financer.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
As the president was arriving in the UK for his second state visit, his image was being projected on to the side of Windsor Castle alongside that of Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein was arrested in 2019 on sex trafficking charges and was accused of sexually abusing dozens of teenage girls.
A month later, he was found dead in a New York jail cell in what investigators described as a suicide.
Maxwell’s move to a lower security facility was criticised by the family of Epstein abuse survivor Virginia Giuffre, who died in April, and accusers Annie and Maria Farmer.
Describing Maxwell as a “sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions”, they said in a statement the transfer “smacks of a cover up. The victims deserve better”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Epstein survivors demand release of all files
When it announced in July that no additional documents from the investigation would be released, the US Justice Department declared that Epstein had killed himself, despite conspiracy theories to the contrary.
Read more on Sky News:
Who is in latest Epstein files release?
Epstein victims condemn Maxwell treatment
Duchess dropped by charities over Epstein links
A “client list” that US Attorney General Pam Bondi had intimated was on her desk did not actually exist, the department said.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of 300 National Guard members to Chicago, the latest in a string of cities where US troops have been sent.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson confirmed the US president authorised the move, citing what she called “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness” that local leaders have not quelled.
“President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities,” Ms Jackson said.
Chicago is the latest city in the US where Mr Trump has authorised the deployment of US troops, as it follows similar orders for Los Angeles, Washington and Portland.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What’s it like having the army on DC’s streets?
Democratic governor JB Pritzker branded the move unnecessary and “a manufactured performance – not a serious effort to protect public safety”.
The Illinois governor said in a statement: “This morning, the Trump administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will.
“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”
Read more from Sky News:
Japan set for first female prime minister
Why Trump accepted the Hamas peace plan response
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
It comes as an attempt by the Trump administration to deploy the National Guard in Portland, Oregon, was temporarily blocked by a federal judge in a lawsuit brought by the state and city.
The plaintiffs said a deployment would violate the US constitution as well as a federal law that generally prohibits the military from being used to enforce domestic laws.
Mr Trump ordered the deployment of troops to “war-ravaged Portland” last week, authorising the use of “full force” if needed.
The move came after a gunman opened fire on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Dallas, wounding two detainees and killing another.
Mr Trump sent the National Guard to Los Angeles over the summer and to Washington DC, as part of his law enforcement takeover there.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024