Beyond mimicking Trump's rhetoric to rile up nationalist sentiment in their own countries, the international far right embraces the U.S. president because he helps bolster the narrative of rising support for a global anti-immigrant, anti-establishment movement. When the most powerful person in the world says that "Islam hates us" and attempts to ban Muslim immigration, it's proof that perhaps other world leaders can achieve a similar goal.

"Trump's campaign was anti-Muslim, and he has enacted anti-Muslim policies while in office," said Matthew McGregor, campaign director for the British-based anti-racism advocacy group Hope Not Hate. "He has given the far right encouragement and left them with the impression that things are going their way."

It gives them credibility that if this is from the president of the United States, then it must be all right to have those views.Amira Elghawaby, human rights advocate

Far-right extremists have also long attached themselves to symbols, slogans and anything that identifies them as an in-group separate from the broader public. Some extremist groups have taken up Nordic symbols; others use thinly veiled references to Nazism, such as "88" for "Heil Hitler," as a wink to others in the movement. European neo-Nazi groups even sometimes carry Confederate flags in their demonstrations. In that sense, it's natural that extremists who view Trump as a gateway to white nationalism have embraced his emblems.

"It gives them credibility that if this is from the president of the United States, then it must be all right to have those views," said Amira Elghawaby, a human rights advocate and board member of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.

But if the support of mass shooters and violent neo-Nazis would make the average politician issue forceful condemnations and distance themselves from rhetoric and symbols that appeal to extremists, Trump has essentially done the opposite. He has claimed there are "very fine people on both sides" of Charlottesville's white nationalist Unite The Right rally, helped promote anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about George Soros and broadcast white supremacist talking points from the Oval Office.

The Christchurch attacker's manifesto included a section on Trump that encapsulates many far-right extremists' views of the U.S. president. Although the attacker disagreed with some of Trump's policies, he claimed he supported Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose."

The day after the attack, however, Trump again dismissed the threat of white nationalism, even as he borrowed its language to describe immigration as an "invasion" that must be stopped. It was another example of why Trump's symbolism still resonates with extremists — he has done little to convince them that his views are not their own.

Or, as Perry puts it: "He still wears the hats."