Joe Scarborough gives Donald Trump a brutal nickname — and it's sticking
Donald Trump is getting a taste of his own medicine: While the Republican nominee has successfully branded his political enemies with nicknames like "Lyin' Ted Cruz" and "Crooked Hillary Clinton," Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough came up with a moniker of his own for Trump, and it appears to be sticking.
"A lot of people are calling him Amnesty Don. People are saying it," Scarborough said Monday. "They're calling him Amnesty Don. Amnesty Don, that's what people are calling him, I'm not calling him that. Amnesty Don. Hashtag Amnesty Don. For 14 months, Amnesty Don has been putting illegal immigration at the center of Amnesty Don's campaign... And, yet, nobody in Amnesty Don's own campaign can tell you what Amnesty Don's position is after Amnesty Don won the primaries promising to deport 11 [million illegal immigrants]."
While "Amnesty Don" might not have the same supervillain-like appeal as "Crooked Hillary Clinton," it is a rather brutal mocking of Trump's latest flip-flop. Trump claimed last week that he is "softening" his immigration positions, and would mostly follow President Obama's policies, "perhaps with a lot more energy," except he will eject the "bad" immigrants "so fast your head will spin." This is contrary to Trump's former promise to deport 11 million illegal immigrants.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Watch Scarborough's masterful branding — hey, he learned by watching the best — below. Jeva Lange
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures Ready for lift-off, the odd one out, and more
-
The Week Unwrapped: Have pedigree dogs had their day?Podcast Plus what can we learn from Slovenia’s rejection of assisted dying? And can politicians admit their weaknesses?
-
4 often overlooked home maintenance tasks that could cost you laterThe Explainer A little upkeep now can save you money down the road
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
