What happens when you make it on to Trump’s rile radar

LITTLE Rocket Man, Pocahontas and Sloppy Steve aren’t starring in the next Disney movie, but they may well be Donald Trump’s greatest creations.

There’s a fair chance if you’ve crossed Donald Trump you’ll have been given the demeaning nickname to prove it. Picture: AP/Carolyn Kaster

HE goes off-piste sometimes with his Twitter account, can misjudge a mood, and take his staff by surprise with a Tweet about a policy that hasn’t been formulated yet.

But US President Trump can certainly nail a nickname and deliver an insult.

He loves coining them almost as much as he loves scoffing McDonald’s.

He delights and takes pride in his penchant for coming up with nicknames that are short, scathing summations of those whole rile him.

His opponents say it’s facile, playground-level bullying, complete with childish prefixes like his often-used “crazy”, “little” and “sloppy”.

They note that if Trump bestows a nickname, it means the subject has gotten under his skin. Or crossed from Trump’s good side, to his dark side.

Dicky Durbin

So Melania Trump, how is that anti-bullying campaign coming along?

— BabyGirl (@babygirlme101) January 15, 2018

His supporters love it: seeing the nicknames as memorable, funny word-caricatures which make his opponents and their traits instantly identifiable.

From Sloppy Steve to Rocket Man, here are five of his demeaning, scornful best:

“Crooked Hillary” — Trump first used the term via Twitter in 2016. It stuck for the whole presidential campaign, striking a chord with Hillary Clinton opponents, and continuing to infuriate her supporters today.

Michael Wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book. He used Sloppy Steve Bannon, who cried when he got fired and begged for his job. Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad! https://t.co/mEeUhk5ZV9

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018

“Sloppy Steve” — is Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist. Bannon was noted for his scruffy style of dress and chaotic presentation. When the pair fell out spectacularly and publicly, the nickname was coined, appearing to be a shot at both Bannon’s often unkempt, looks-like-he’s-been-dragged-through-a-hedge appearance and the breakdown of their political relationship.

Recently, Late Late Show host James Corden suggested it was only a matter of time before White House Chief of Staff John Kelly gets his own childish nickname, after Kelly said Trump’s campaign pledges to curb immigration were “uninformed”.

“I can’t believe Trump and his chief of staff are fighting in public like this, but I’ve got to say, what I’m really looking forward to is what nickname Trump is going to use when he eventually attacks General Kelly on Twitter,” said Corden..

“Low Energy Jeb” — Trump awarded his fellow presidential candidate the nickname in 2016. Ostensibly it is a shot at Bush’s low-key campaign presence. It was also a very unsubtle shot at Bush’s masculinity. And it rankled the hell out of Bush.

Pocahontas just stated that the Democrats, lead by the legendary Crooked Hillary Clinton, rigged the Primaries! Lets go FBI & Justice Dept.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2017

“Pocahontas” — Highly offensive. Highly identifiable, so for Trump, a win-win. He gave the Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren the nickname when she claimed that she had Native American heritage 1/32nd, to be exact.

Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2017

“Little Rocket Man” — Trump took his Twitter fight with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to a whole new level with this one. He’d routinely described him as a “whack job” and “sick puppy”, but this one was a total zinger. — devastatingly accurate and deeply insulting.

And either ballsy or stupid, depending on what you think about the possible nuclear response which comes from taunting an angry despot desperate to fire missiles.

“Little Rocket Man” is Trump’s provocative nickname for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Picture: AFP

Meanwhile, many try to come up with a nickname for Trump which will stick.

They’re even running mock-polls on Twitter for it.

But so far, “The Don” continues to reign.

Which @realDonaldTrump ‘name’ on Twitter — is your favorite?

— Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) January 21, 2018

Trump is going to have a hard time coming up with a nickname for a woman that already goes by Stormy.

— Tim Hanlon (@TimfromDa70s) January 17, 2018

Originally published as What happens when you make it on to Trump’s rile radar