Billionaire media mogul Michael Bloomberg, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, has notched another recognition: US President Donald Trump has given him a derogatory nickname: “Mini Mike.”
“Mini Mike, Major Party Nominations are not for sale! Good luck in the debate tomorrow night and remember, no standing on boxes!” Trump tweeted on Tuesday, referring to Bloomberg’s height.
The former mayor of New York City thought it would be clever to ask why Trump wishes to run against Bernie Sanders – the democratic socialist senator from Vermont – so badly.
“Mini Mike. No, I would rather run against you!” Trump replied.
Trump has a tradition of mocking his rivals with derogatory nicknames, going back to the 2016 campaign. Hillary Clinton was “Crooked Hillary” while Sanders was “Crazy Bernie.” Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren and “Sleepy” Joe Biden have found themselves on the receiving end during the 2020 campaign.
Rivals for the Republican nomination were not spared either. “Low Energy” Jeb Bush is still furious, though “Lyin’ Ted” Cruz and “Little Marco” Rubio seem to have forgiven him, and now mostly support Trump’s agenda in the Senate.
Trump does not limit his use of monikers to domestic politics, either. He famously mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as “Little Rocket Man” – before agreeing to a historic meeting to discuss denuclearization and peace, anyway.
The nicknames have been part of Trump’s persuasion technique that cartoonist and pundit Scott Adams has called “linguistic kill shots.”
“His nicknames for those who he is mocking are so incredibly wrong in the context of things a president shouldn’t be saying,” Adams said back in 2017. “But they’re just wrong enough that you can’t look away.”
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