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  • - [Narrator] The Trump campaign's officially licensed

  • Make America Great Again or MAGA hats,

  • are made here, at the Cali-Fame headwear factory

  • in Carson, California, just outside of Los Angeles.

  • - The fabric, the cord, the plastic strap,

  • the fabric underneath, the sweatband,

  • the whole hat is made here in America.

  • - [Narrator] The company doesn't only make MAGA hats.

  • It specializes in all kinds of headwear,

  • which it manufactures and customizes.

  • But the company has worked with Trump for years.

  • Before the campaign, Cali-Fame

  • made hats for Trump's golf courses.

  • - We've been making golf hats since the '50s.

  • Cali-Fame Los Angeles was one of the first

  • golf hat manufacturers.

  • - [Narrator] The red MAGA hat retails for $25.

  • Every purchase of a MAGA hat,

  • along with any other item for sale

  • on the Trump campaign's official website,

  • counts as a campaign contribution.

  • Around 100 employees work in the factory,

  • and according to an interview Brian Kennedy did

  • with the Los Angeles Times in 2015,

  • around 80% of the workforce is Latino.

  • And according to the Trump campaign,

  • all employees are verified U.S. citizens.

  • We didn't speak to any employees during our shoot.

  • - Do I look like Trump?

  • - [Narrator] But in 2015, MSNBC visited the factory

  • and reporter Jacob Soboroff spoke to some of the workers.

  • - When you heard that Trump,

  • you're gonna make the hats for Trump,

  • what was the first thought that went through your mind?

  • - Well, more work for us.

  • - Some of the stuff that he's said,

  • it's not been particularly nice to the Latino community.

  • When you guys hear some of that stuff, what do you think?

  • - I just try to ignore it.

  • - [Narrator] Making the hats requires a 23-step process,

  • much of which is done by hand.

  • - So the way we manufacture the hat,

  • the first process is spreading material.

  • We take it right to the embroidery machine,

  • and then from embroidery

  • we're taking it right to the sewing operation

  • where we're creating both the bill and the crown separately,

  • so that eventually we put these two parts together

  • by attaching the sweatband, finishing it

  • with the plastic strap that's made in the U.S.

  • Then we steam the hat, press the hat,

  • and we also finish the cord and glue that down

  • before we pack the hat.

  • - [Narrator] The hats are shipped to the headquarters

  • of Ace Specialties in Lafayette, Louisiana.

  • Ace is the Trump campaign's

  • official merchandise distributor,

  • and the company fulfills all orders

  • from the Trump campaign's website.

  • According to the Trump campaign,

  • hundreds of thousands of MAGA hats

  • have been sold since Trump's campaign began.

  • - We are one of the few American companies left making hats.

  • There is a need, a niche, for that American product,

  • and that's what we've been really striving for

  • the last couple of years.

  • It's an incredible opportunity to make this hat

  • for the President of the United States.

  • I think that this hat is an icon

  • for what is going on in the country

  • and we're really happy to make the hat for the president.

  • Hopefully we can keep this going.

  • (gentle music, sewing machines running)

- [Narrator] The Trump campaign's officially licensed

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