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The recurring Trump remarks about common words: who coined them, what they mean and how they're spelled

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You're probably here because of the Oct 2026 rerun. This is the 10th time since 2016 (archive start) this story has run. The previous rerun was Aug 2026.

About this story

In a May 2017 interview with The Economist, Donald Trump used the phrase "prime the pump," asked whether the interviewers had heard the expression, and said, "I came up with it a couple of days ago." ABC reported that he had used the phrase in a Time interview the year before, and that in its economic sense the phrase originated during President Herbert Hoover's response to the Great Depression. In an October 2017 interview with Mike Huckabee on the Christian TV network TBN, Trump said, "I think one of the greatest of all terms I've come up with is 'fake'," adding, "I guess other people have used it perhaps over the years, but I've never noticed it." ABC reported that Merriam-Webster said on Twitter that its research traces "fake news" "back to at least 1890."

Sources: 1, 2

20162026

Oct 2026 – ongoing Incumbent

Kind: meaning. On October 25, 2026, Trump told reporters that "a lot of people don't know what incumbent means." He said this while arguing that Alaska's Senate ballot confuses voters. The ballot lists Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, marked "Incumbent," alongside a second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. (Newsweek). That is the thread's "meaning" pattern: a claim that many people don't know what a common word means. Merriam-Webster defines the noun "incumbent" in two senses: "the holder of an office or ecclesiastical benefice" and "one that occupies a particular position or place." Its entry notes that "in the modern American political system, incumbent typically refers to someone who is the current holder of a position during an election for that position." Its Word of the Day entry (Feb. 11, 2016) says the word was first used in English in the 15th century. Raw Story reported that journalist Aaron Rupar posted a clip of the remark on X. Newsweek, Raw Story, the Washington Examiner and The Daily Beast covered it. The Daily Beast reported that the remark "sparked fresh questions about his vocabulary."

  • x.com social post
  • Newsweek (pre–2013) article
    At least let them use the name Senator Dan Sullivan, as opposed to incumbent, because a lot of people don't know what incumbent means,
  • The Daily Beast article
    President Donald Trump sparked fresh questions about his vocabulary after declaring that "a lot of people" don't know what "incumbent" means.

Sources: Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · rawstory.com needs a second source · Washington Examiner needs a second source · The Daily Beast needs a second source · merriam-webster.com needs a second source · merriam-webster.com needs a second source

Aug 2026 "Dumb" spelling remark in Las Vegas

Spelling remark. On Aug 5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Trump explained his nickname for Democrats: "I call them 'Dumocrats' because their policies are so dumb. Dumb. You exchange the 'e' with the 'u.' And nobody knows that 'dumb' doesn't have a 'b.'" He added: "I can't imagine I didn't think about that 10 years ago when I started this whole situation." That wording is from the official transcript, "Remarks in Las Vegas, Nevada" (govinfo, DCPD-202600518). Merriam-Webster spells the word "dumb" and dates its first known use as an adjective to before the 12th century. The New Republic reported the remark on Aug 6 under the headline "Trump, 80, Forgets How to Spell 'Dumb'." It also embedded a post by Aaron Rupar that said of the word: "(Dear reader, it has a B)." This fits the thread's spelling pattern: Trump said people don't know how a common word is spelled, then described the spelling himself.

  • govinfo.gov statement
    Dumb. You exchange the "e" with the "u." And nobody knows that "dumb" doesn't have a "b."
  • The New Republic article
    “Nobody knows that ‘dumb’ doesn’t have a ‘b’,” Trump said sincerely
  • merriam-webster.com article
    The first known use of dumb was before the 12th century

Sources: govinfo.gov reliable · The New Republic needs a second source · merriam-webster.com needs a second source

Jun 2026 – Jul 2026 "Affordability" called a "fake word, made up by the Democrats"

Coinage remark. At a June 17, 2026 press conference at the G7 summit in France, Trump said "affordability" was "a fake word made up by the Democrats." He said he first heard it when Democrats were "screaming" it at his first news conference (Senate Democrats' transcript; USA Today via Central Oregon Daily). On July 22, at Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia, he said "affordability" was "made up by the Democrats" and that his first press conference was the "first time I heard it" (Fortune). The Online Etymology Dictionary dates the noun "affordability" to 1910. Merriam-Webster's entry for "affordability" sits under "affordable," whose first known use was 1647. Both dates are long before Trump's first press conference.

  • democrats.senate.gov statement
    Now, the word affordability. It's a fake word made up by the Democrats.
  • centraloregondaily.com article
    The word 'affordability' is a fake word, made up by the Democrats,
  • fortune.com article
    They used the word—first time I heard it. It was a word, you know, made up by the Democrats: affordability

Sources: democrats.senate.gov needs a second source · centraloregondaily.com needs a second source · fortune.com reliable · etymonline.com needs a second source · merriam-webster.com needs a second source

May 2026 – Jun 2026 "Dumb" has a B

Kind: spelling. At a May 22, 2026 rally at Rockland Community College, held to support Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, Trump explained his "Dumocrats" nickname for Democrats. Atlanta Black Star quotes him: "D-U-M — not the B. 'He's a dumb person.' It's enough. Most people don't know it has a B." In a Fox News interview with Lara Trump, he said, as HuffPost quotes it, "I take the 'b' off because most people don't know that dumb ends with a 'b' but most people don't know." IBTimes UK says the interview was filmed on Friday, May 29, and HuffPost places the remark "over the weekend." Both are claims that most people don't know how a common word is spelled, followed by Trump spelling it. According to IBTimes UK, "the clip did the rounds within hours," and Atlanta Black Star called the rally moment "a viral moment taking over the internet."

  • x.com social post
    Trump: They called me dumb. DUM—not the B. Most people don't know it has a B.
  • HuffPost article
    President Donald Trump over the weekend claimed that most people don't know how to spell a basic word as he explained his latest insult.

Sources: atlantablackstar.com needs a second source · HuffPost needs a second source · Yahoo News reliable · International Business Times needs a second source

Nov 2025 "Affordability" is a "new word"; "groceries" is an "old-fashioned word"

Coinage remark. In a Fox News interview on Nov. 5, 2025, Trump said, "They have this new word called 'affordability,'" and that Republicans "don't talk about it enough" (HuffPost). HuffPost reported that the word isn't new, citing the Oxford English Dictionary, which it said traces the word to 1910. In an Oval Office exchange with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, Trump again said "the new word is 'affordability,'" and called "groceries" "sort of an old-fashioned word" (Mediaite's transcript). TheGrio reported an earlier remark to a voter in which Trump called groceries "an old-fashioned word, but... a beautiful word." In these remarks Trump presented a long-established word as new, which is this thread's coinage pattern.

  • Yahoo News article
    "They have this new word called 'affordability,'" Trump explained during a Fox News interview. "And they don't talk about it enough."
  • Yahoo News article
    But a big thing on costs, you know, the new word is "affordability." Another word is just "groceries." You know, it's sort of an old-fashioned word, but it's very accurate.
  • Yahoo News article
    I think of groceries. You know, it's an old-fashioned word, but it's a beautiful word.

Sources: Yahoo News reliable · Yahoo News reliable · Yahoo News reliable

Mar 2025 – Apr 2025 "Groceries" as an "old-fashioned" word (Trump defines it)

Kind: meaning. In his April 2, 2025 Rose Garden tariff speech, Trump "zeroed in on the word "groceries" and provided his own definition", according to People (syndicated by AOL). He said: "It's such an old-fashioned term but a beautiful term: groceries… It sort of says a bag with different things in it." MS NOW reports that the week before, at another White House event, he said "groceries" is "a beautiful word." Rolling Stone (syndicated by Yahoo) reports that at a women's event on March 26 he said: "The cost of groceries, a word that I used a lot on the campaign… It's like an old-fashioned word, but it's a beautiful word, a very descriptive word." Rolling Stone also reports that a day earlier, at the White House, he said: "I inherited a groceries situation… An old-fashioned word, it's a very descriptive word." MS NOW and Rolling Stone both report that on Newsmax he said the word is "like an old-fashioned word, but really it's not," with MS NOW quoting: "It's like an old-fashioned word, but really it's not. And people understand it." Merriam-Webster defines "grocery" as "the food and supplies sold by a grocer" and gives its first known use as the 15th century.

  • aol.com article
    It's such an old-fashioned term but a beautiful term: groceries… It sort of says a bag with different things in it.
  • ms.now article
    Trump has shifted his attention away from what happens inside grocery stores and toward the word "groceries" itself.
  • Yahoo News article
    It's like an old-fashioned word, but it's a beautiful word, a very descriptive word.
  • c-span.org video Watch
    It's such an old-fashioned term but a beautiful term: groceries… It sort of says a bag with different things in it.

Sources: aol.com needs a second source · ms.now needs a second source · Yahoo News reliable · merriam-webster.com needs a second source

Dec 2024 "Groceries" – Trump says he started using the word

In a Meet the Press interview with Kristen Welker, published by NBC on Dec. 8, 2024, President-elect Trump said: "Very simple word, groceries. Like almost — you know, who uses the word? I started using the word — the groceries." This is a "new or coined" remark. Trump said he started using the word and asked who uses it, but he did not say he coined it. Merriam-Webster dates the first known use of "grocery" to the 15th century and defines "groceries" as the food and supplies sold by a grocer. ABC News and PBS's Washington Week, both on Dec. 13, 2024, quoted the remark in stories about Trump backing off his promise to lower grocery prices, not about the word itself.

  • NBC News article
    Very simple word, groceries. Like almost — you know, who uses the word? I started using the word — the groceries.
  • ABC News article
    I won on the border, and I won on groceries

Sources: NBC News reliable · ABC News reliable · Public Broadcasting Service reliable · merriam-webster.com needs a second source

Aug 2019 – ongoing "Emoluments" (meaning: word unfamiliar)

In a speech on August 13, 2019, at a Shell plant in Monaca, PA, Trump said he had been sued "on a thing called emoluments," asked whether listeners had heard the word, then said "Nobody ever heard of it before" and "Nobody knows what it is." This is a meaning-type remark, a claim that people don't know a word or what it means; he did not define the word himself. According to The Hill, the lawsuits against him alleged violations of the Constitution's Emoluments Clause. Merriam-Webster defines "emolument" as "the returns arising from office or employment usually in the form of compensation or perquisites," dates its first known use to the 15th century, and notes that the U.S. Constitution includes two emoluments clauses.

Sources: The Hill reliable · trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov reliable · NBC News reliable · merriam-webster.com needs a second source

Oct 2017 "Fake" / "fake news" (Oct. 2017)

In an interview for Mike Huckabee's Trinity Broadcasting Network show, Trump called "fake" "one of the greatest of all terms I've come up with," adding, "I guess other people have used it perhaps over the years but I've never noticed it" (CNN; ABC). Merriam-Webster replied on Twitter that its research traces "fake news" "back to at least 1890" (ABC). Its blog post cites an 1890 Cincinnati Commercial Tribune headline and use of "false news" going back to the 16th century (Merriam-Webster). On Oct. 25 Trump told Lou Dobbs on Fox Business, "I've really started this whole fake news thing." The Hill described that as taking credit for "branding the media as 'fake'" (RealClearPolitics; The Hill).

  • CNN article
    The media is really, the word, one of the greatest of all terms I've come up with, is 'fake,'
  • abc.net.au article
    Our research traces 'fake news' back to at least 1890. But we won't be adding the term to the dictionary… yet,
  • RealClearPolitics broadcast
    I think one of the best names is -- you know, I've really started this whole fake news thing.

Sources: abc.net.au needs a second source · CNN reliable · merriam-webster.com needs a second source · The Hill reliable

May 2017 Prime the pump

Coinage remark. In an interview with The Economist published May 11, 2017, Trump used the phrase "prime the pump" while defending tax cuts that could add to the deficit in the short term. He then asked whether the interviewers had heard the expression, said "I haven't heard it," and said "I came up with it a couple of days ago." That is a claim to have coined the phrase, not to have popularized it. According to a Merriam-Webster tweet embedded by The Hill, the phrase dates to the early 19th century. Time quoted a Merriam-Webster tweet saying that "pump priming" has referred to government investment expenditures "since at least 1933." Time reported that Trump had used the phrase before: in a 2016 Time interview, in a December speech and on Fox News in April. ABC also noted the 2016 Time interview.

  • abc.net.au article
    Have you heard that expression used before? Because I haven't heard it. I mean, I just ... I came up with it a couple of days ago and I thought it was good. It's what you have to do.
  • Time article
    ‘Pump priming’ has been used to refer to government investment expenditures since at least 1933
  • The Hill article
    The phrase 'priming the pump' dates to the early 19th century.— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) May 11, 2017

Sources: abc.net.au needs a second source · Time reliable · The Hill reliable

Data: JSON · CSV · about the data

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