Biden campaign tests Trump’s name-calling strategy with ‘Broke Don’

President Biden’s reelection campaign has dubbed former President Trump “Broke Don,” taking a strategy out of Trump’s playbook that his political rivals know all too well.

Trump has used nicknames — from “Little Marco” to “Crooked Hillary” to “Lyin’ Ted” — to put down a variety of opponents. For much of 2020, Biden’s moniker, courtesy of Trump, was “Sleepy Joe.”

Now, the Biden team is seeking to turn the tables in attempting to make one stick to Trump while it worked this week to highlight the former president’s lagging fundraising numbers in the 2024 race.

Anise,

I think slinging mud about how much money one’s opponent has is a little tactless when so many Americans are struggling financially. The Dems get accused of being deaf to the problems of the rural poor enough without leaning into the rich urban elite stereotype.

Also, where are the “lock him up” chants?

paddirn,

Should go with ‘Brokeback Don’, just because Conservatives would hate the implication.

Skanky,

Don Poorleone

Vaginal_blood_fart,

Obese rapist has a nice ring to it

Boddhisatva,

He called himself “Honest Don” on Truth Social. Biden should just play on that and go with Dishonest Don.

bradorsomething,

‘Ol Broke Honest Don

foggy,

Or just call him honest don while describing his lies and convictions

hark,
@hark@lemmy.world avatar

I don’t know if that’d go over well with the many struggling broke Americans.

MagicShel,

Yeah, broke might really anger Trump, but it’s a bad look for a wealthy guy to be calling someone broke as an insult. I don’t know that Trump could capitalize on it, but his surrogates in the media might.

Biden is playing to an audience that gets upset when Trump attacks folks who are disabled or checks notes have a son killed in Iraq. I doubt it will hit the same, especially when so many Democrats are also broke.

GreyEyedGhost,

Even broke people tend to feel a fair amount of pity and disgust when someone goes broke because of their own stupid decisions. When those stupid decisions include breaking the law, the ratio tends to have more disgust and less pity. Now top that with the person in question being notorious for disparaging broke people, and I think the only people who will get their hackles up about this are his rabid supporters.

fine_sandy_bottom,

Nah, broke democrats aren’t parading around pretending to be loaded.

brown567,

My wife and I like to call him “the oompa loompa of crime”

“Crimes oompa loompa” for short

KumaLumaJuma,

Crimoompa Loompa

mightyfoolish,

Personally, I think he can do better. Sleepy Joe vs Donny Doritos Part 2 (because he’s the same color) has a better ring to it.

Yamainwitch,

“Broke Don” never had a real job in his life.

underisk,
@underisk@lemmy.ml avatar

this is how you prove to people you’re the better alternative to Trump, by doing exactly the same stupid shit he does. good job!

CoggyMcFee,

His campaign has put out a number of different types of messaging about what makes him better than Trump aside from this, but — surprise, surprise — you’re only aware of this one, because it grabs attention, which is why his team is trying it!

underisk,
@underisk@lemmy.ml avatar

I made a negative comment about the tactic being discussed without prefacing it with a bunch of caveats and disclaimers so obviously I must be ignorant of all the other messaging they’ve put out. Very presumptuous.

Zaktor,

That Trump uses childish nicknames isn’t a remotely important part of his horribleness.

fubarx, (edited )

Ugh. If you’re going to go low, workshop the name-calling. Go with alliteration or rhyming. And nothing too fancy, like Destitute Don.

At least make it flow a bit, like Broke Donny.

Or go sing-songy, like: Donny Chapter 11, Don-o Busto, or Donny The Cheat.

But if you really want to get under his skin, you can’t go wrong with: Dirt-Poor Donny.

Repeat 1000 times.

Exusia,
@Exusia@lemmy.world avatar

I like it. Sounds like “broke down”.

RamblingPanda,

At least make it flow a bit, like Broke Donny.

And let The Lonely Island make a song. Something like Shy Ronny.

bloup,

It’s gotta be deadbeat don

Stupidmanager,

You can’t use big words here. The right that are smart enough to know the word destitute, know why they’re voting republican. Broke Donny would be my choice though. I already call him Donny or orange Jesus, to aggravate my parents when they start to talk about all the good he’s doing now. It’s Easter Sunday next week, I look forward to testing each variation.

splount,

Donny Broke - A donnybrook comes from Irish meaning a public quarrel or dispute.

Wrench,

Deadbeat Don refuses to pay his bills after service has been rendered. Just ask his former lawyers.

goferking0,

And former contractors, builders, etc

DogPeePoo,

Cryin’ Don

taanegl,

Incidentally, Broke Don is also my rap name.

I got songs like “I’m bad at trapping”, “The In$urance Biz got me fucked”, “IKEA drip” and “all my money (alimony)”.

MoxFcCloud,

I know I'm in the minority on this but I've always felt like Trump truly won when we started adopting his shithead name-calling habits.

  1. Its doesn't accomplish anything and reduces every argument to finger pointing and smirking.
  2. He's so much better at it than anyone else cause his supporters don't care what he does and the rest of us aren't that beholden to a single politician to proselytize their every word
mPony,

it’s just so disappointing that the GOP literally has no standards, while the Dems get called out for literally everything they do. Those criticisms can fuck off. The fascists are at your doorstep, you fools.

the_crotch,

God forbid the party whose entire platform is “at least we’re not the Republicans” be held to a higher standard than the republicans

Zaktor,

The standard of “don’t hurl childish insults at bad people” isn’t a standard I care terribly much about. Neither the name calling nor the pearl clutching are important in any way.

PugJesus,
@PugJesus@kbin.social avatar

Namecalling appeals to morons who have trouble parsing anything more complex.

Morons are a non-negligible proportion of the US electorate.

the_crotch,

Yeah, just look at all the people on lemmy and reddit who focus on Trump’s skin color instead of his myriad crimes, piss poor performance as president, and attempted coup.

PugJesus,
@PugJesus@kbin.social avatar

Namecalling as a strategy and namecalling as a means of releasing pent-up frustration are two different things, I'd argue.

Hell, I'd even put namecalling as provocation as different from namecalling as a strategy for garnering support.

neptune,

Unfortunately this is where the undecideds of our country are. Imagine not knowing who you’d vote for this year.

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