Trump mocked for exclamation point frenzy in statement on Saudi Arabia & Khashoggi murder
It's often assumed that statements from the US president are drafted and edited by writers, but Trump's most recent public release seems to read just like his tweets – and the internet was quick to tear it apart.
The statement explains Trump's decision to stand with Saudi Arabia despite the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, citing its role in combating terrorism and the $450 billion that Riyadh agreed to spend in a historic arms deal.
But the president's favorite method of communication was used against him once his critics on Twitter realized that the statement was full of apparent Trumpisms.
One person was quick to point out the excessive number of exclamation marks used in such a short statement – eight to be exact. This, he said, was almost certainly proof that Trump wrote it himself, given his love for that particular form of punctuation.
I’ve never been more convinced that Trump personally wrote a White House statement. 8 exclamation points! 8! pic.twitter.com/zPwMal9sS1
— David Mack (@davidmackau) November 20, 2018
I can't recall any official statement of any kind before with so many exclamation marks.
— Janne Oivio (@JanneOivio) November 20, 2018
This in Trump's statement might be the dumbest exclamation point in history—"Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event—maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!https://t.co/P4feUFKxGmpic.twitter.com/3RpPk88V7i
— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) November 20, 2018
Another said it reads like a YouTube comment, which aren't exactly known for their excellent use of grammar and spelling.
This reads like a YouTube comment. https://t.co/934CrbtEVo
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) November 20, 2018
If I _never_ see an exclamation mark in a foreign policy statement again, it will have been too soon. https://t.co/hOthS1pUSo
— Andrew Papenheim (@apapenheim) November 20, 2018
I was once told "You get five exclamation marks in your life. Use them wisely." @realDonaldTrump just used up his lifetime quota. #ameditinghttps://t.co/m77TmMAfOC
— Lauren N. Haumesser (@LaurenHaumesser) November 20, 2018
One person said Trump exhibited “third grade reasoning and vocabulary” in his statement, then apologized to primary school children everywhere if he offended them.
This is an incredibly unhinged statement by Trump about Saudi Arabia and Khashoggi's murder. A lot of exclamation points in it. Not sure why? His 3rd grade reasoning and vocabulary (apologies to all primary school children everywhere) were in particularly fine form though. NOT! pic.twitter.com/w2p2pOcxuq
— DenisCampbell (@ClientLoyaltyDC) November 20, 2018
Trump has the writing ability of a 1st grader. That’s a lot! Of! Exclamation! Points!
— Ana Beaverhausen (@ana_beaverhaus) November 20, 2018
Others suggested the content of the statement was written by someone else, with Trump's only contributions being the exclamation points.
Trump's contributions = the exclamation points
— lark benobi 🎢 (@larkbenobi) November 20, 2018
Some just pointed to the general strangeness of the statement, with the words “bizarre,”“unusual,” and “embarrassing” being popular adjectives to describe the text.
Just when you think he can't become any more bizarre and embarrassing, he does.
— BbMoody (@bbmoody1) November 20, 2018
All those exclamation points point to a loose screw in the Trump brain.
— John L.T. (@JohnLT12) November 20, 2018
Of course the whole thing led to some memes about Trump's overall intelligence.
All those exclamation points point to a loose screw in the Trump brain.
— John L.T. (@JohnLT12) November 20, 2018
All those exclamation points point to a loose screw in the Trump brain.
— John L.T. (@JohnLT12) November 20, 2018
Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif also called it “bizarre” that Trump's statement mostly focused on Iran being an enemy of the US, rather than on Saudi Arabia. He then went on to suggest that perhaps Trump also thinks Tehran is responsible for the forest fires in California, and mocked an earlier statement in which the US president appeared to think that combating the flames was as simple as keeping forests tidy with a rake.
Mr. Trump bizarrely devotes the FIRST paragraph of his shameful statement on Saudi atrocities to accuse IRAN of every sort of malfeasance he can think of. Perhaps we’re also responsible for the California fires, because we didn’t help rake the forests— just like the Finns do?
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) November 20, 2018
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