Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš unveils Trump-inspired baseball caps

For a newly-launched ANO campaign, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš was inspired by his visit to the White House in March during which he gifted US President Donald Trump a special Czech-made handgun.

Yesterday, Babiš introduced via social media a new ANO campaign ahead of the upcoming EU elections: familiar red baseball caps clearly inspired by the Trump campaign’s “Make America Great Again.”

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Instead of something along the lines of Make Czechia Great Again, which might not translate especially well, the caps introduced by Babiš yesterday bear the slogan “Silné Česko,” or “Strong Czechia.”

The full slogan of the new ANO campaign introduced by Babiš is “Česko ochráníme. Tvrdě a nekompromisně,” or “We will protect Czechia. Strong and uncompromising.”

Like the Trump campaign, a big part of ANO’s focus will be on the issue of immigration.

According to Dita Charanzová, ANO representative in the EU Parliament, the campaign refers to both a strong Czech Republic and a strong European Union.

“Our campaign is about a viable Europe, about security and a level playing field,” Charanzová told journalists at a press conference yesterday.

“We need not only to protect the European Union’s external border, but we also need to look at what to do with return policy. How is it possible that some applicants who are not eligible for asylum in the European Union remain in Europe? How come asylum procedures in some countries take weeks, in others months, if not years?”

In video posted to Facebook, the Czech Prime Minister revealed that he was indeed inspired by the Trump campaign’s baseball caps.

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“When I was preparing for my trip to the United States, I was watching different videos with President Donald Trump and I found out that everyone was wearing a cap at his rallies,” Babiš noted on Facebook.

“The election is approaching, so it would be nice if people wore it.”

Given that baseball caps aren’t exactly as popular in the Czech Republic as they are in the United States, time will tell if the new campaign catches on.

Local wearers might also be reluctant to identify themselves with United States and the contentious Trump campaign, though the Czech Prime Minister is no stranger to controversy himself.

The internet, of course, was quick to take a few shots at the Prime Minister, including this English-language jab courtesy of Reflex.cz:

Charanzová also spoke about a stronger Czech stance in the European Union, and consumer equality, including the long-debated issue of dual-quality food products that Czech officials will vote on in the upcoming weeks.

Should the amendment pass, producers of identical but inferior-quality food products would face fines of up to 50 million crowns from the Czech Republic.

“We want a strong Czech Republic, but also a strong Europe. We want a European Union that will return to its original mission,” Charanzová stated.