‘Great MAGA King’: Trump Embraces Nickname Coined by Biden

‘Great MAGA King’: Trump Embraces Nickname Coined by Biden
Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a rally at the I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., on May 1, 2022. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Frank Fang
5/13/2022
Updated:
5/14/2022
0:00

Former President Donald Trump has chosen to turn President Joe Biden’s criticism to his advantage, after the U.S. leader chose to mock his predecessor as “the great MAGA king.”

Biden labeled Trump with the nickname in a speech at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers conference in Chicago on May 11, while touting his achievement of reducing the federal deficit.

“Under my predecessor, the great MAGA king, the deficit increased every single year he was president. The first year of my presidency—the first year, I reduced the deficit—literally reduced the deficit by $350 billion,” Biden said.

In response, Trump took to his Truth Social account and posted a meme—a bearded Trump holding a sword in a modified version of a poster depicting Aragorn for the 2003 movie “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

The meme has the title, “The Return of the Great MAGA King.”

A screenshot of former President Donald Trump’s post on his Truth Social account. (Screenshot/Truth Social)
A screenshot of former President Donald Trump’s post on his Truth Social account. (Screenshot/Truth Social)

Trump later posted a statement on his account, saying “The Great MAGA King is the name Joe Biden is now using to describe me. Thank you, Joe. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

On May 12, White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended Biden’s comment on Trump during a daily briefing.

“Well, I would say that the president is not afraid to call out what he sees as extreme positions that are out of line with where the American people stand,” Psaki said.

“And whether that is supporting a tax plan that will raise taxes on 75 million Americans making less than $100,000 a year; or whether it is supporting efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade,” she said.

“The president believes that there is still work we can do together,” she added. “The Bipartisan Innovation Act is a good example of that. But, again, he is not going to stand back and stand aside while people are pushing for extreme positions that are not in the interests or supported by the vast majority of the American people.”

Also during his Chicago speech, Biden continued his criticism of some Republicans over what he calls their “ultra-MAGA agenda.”

“Right now, the majority of our Republican friends just see things differently,” Biden said. “They don’t want to solve inflation by lowering the costs. They want to solve it by raising taxes and lowering your income.”

He added: “The ultra-MAGA Republicans’ proposal puts—here’s what it does: It puts Social Security, Medicare—this is the Republican plan now; the only one out there—and Medicaid on the chopping block every five years.”

Some Republican lawmakers have embraced the “ultra-MAGA” label, including Reps. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).
“I am ultra-MAGA, and I’m proud of it,” Stefanik said in a passing comment at a press conference on May 11.
Frank Fang is a Taiwan-based journalist. He covers U.S., China, and Taiwan news. He holds a master's degree in materials science from Tsinghua University in Taiwan.
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