Donald Trump has made a practice of labeling his political rivals and enemies with derisive nicknames, as The Inquisitr reported, starting in the earliest stages of his 2016 presidential campaign when he labeled his Republican primary opponent Jeb Bush, “Low Energy Jeb,” and derided GOP Senator Marco Rubio as “Little Marco.” Even more famously, he repeatedly referred to his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as “Crooked Hillary.”
But now it appears Trump has been hit with a derogatory — and controversial — nickname of his own, courtesy of comedian Bill Maher, who debuted the nickname during a monologue on his weekly HBO Real Time broadcast, as Raw Story reported.
After a blockbuster New York Times investigative report on Thursday revealed that from 1985 to 1994, Trump claimed well over $1 billion in financial losses on his income tax returns, Maher noted that “Trump sold himself to this country as a business genius.” But that image now appears false.
Riffing on the nickname that Trump has used for Democratic candidate and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren — “Pocahontas,” ridiculing a claim of Native American heritage made by Warren — Maher suggested that Warren should start calling Trump “Brokeahontas.”
Twitter quickly picked up the derisive Trump nickname and sent the hashtag #Brokeahontas trending, hitting No. 4 on the United States charts, according to the Twitter-tracking site Trends24 , as late as 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, almost 24 hours after Maher’s broadcast.
The “Brokeahontas” nickname was not universally well-received on Twitter, however, with numerous Twitter users labeling the name “racist” against Native Americans, just as Trump’s own use of “Pocahontas” against Warren has been labeled racist, according to a CNN report.
“Trump’s choice of ‘Pocahontas’ reflects a deeply complicated history of ancestry and white racial fantasy,” wrote historian Honor Sachs, in a Washington Post op-ed discussing Trump’s use of the nickname.
According to a Politico report this week, Trump firmly believes in using ridicule, and in particular, insulting nicknames, as a political weapon against his rivals.
“Trump believes that if you can encapsulate someone in a phrase or a nickname, you can own them,” a source close to Trump told Politico . “Low energy Jeb, Little Marco, that kind of s*** really diminishes people and puts you in control of them.”
Maher also labeled Trump a “reverse billionaire,” for his reported $1.2 billion in losses over a 10-year period, a sum that the NYT report said far outstripped losses claimed by any other U.S. taxpayer during that period.
Trump sold himself to this country as a business genius. Turns out he’s a reverse billionaire. Elizabeth Warren should start calling him #Brokeahontas . pic.twitter.com/sCRNx8rkMZ
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) May 11, 2019
Or you could just release your taxes.
But we know you won’t, #Brokeahontas . https://t.co/zNHXExtTUV
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) May 11, 2019
Now it appears that Trump himself has been labeled with a nickname, but whether it “diminishes” him or allows his rivals to “control” him remains to be seen. Despite a flurry of activity on his Twitter account on Saturday, Trump had yet to comment on the “Brokeahontas” nickname as of late Saturday night.
