Trump's Most Brutal Nicknames For His Political Opponents (Including Kamala Harris)

One of the biggest paradoxes during the Trump family's time in the White House was Melania Trump's "Be Best" anti-bullying and online safety initiative, which apparently led to her becoming "an ambassador of kindness." Yet, one of Donald Trump's most cringe-worthy TV appearances included him seemingly mocking a reporter with a disability. Then, there are his social media attacks against others, which include an arsenal of spiteful and brutal nicknames.

As soon as a person crops up in Donald's crosshairs, they are awarded a mocking moniker, often related to their height, if they are male, or their appearance, if they are female. He famously branded Rosie O'Donnell a "fat pig" and referred to Stormy Daniels as "horse face."

Michelle Obama said she'd never forgive Donald for his attempt to tyrannize her family by pushing the birther conspiracy and engaging in bigoted and xenophobic rhetoric. "Donald Trump, with his loud and reckless innuendos, was putting my family's safety at risk," she wrote in her 2018 memoir, "Becoming." Still, he waited until 2018 to award Barack Obama with a nickname. "Thank you to Rasmussen for the honest polling. Just hit 50%, which is higher than Cheatin' Obama at the same time in his Administration," he posted on X, formerly Twitter, on April 3. All things considered, Barack got off lightly. We're looking at Donald's most brutal nicknames for his political opponents, including his Kamala Harris doozy.

Donald Trump has an array of nicknames for Joe Biden. Pretty much as soon as the latter announced his intention to run as president in the 2020 campaign, Trump was on the attack, attempting to paint Biden as a frail old man. "Welcome to the race Sleepy Joe. I only hope you have the intelligence, long in doubt, to wage a successful primary campaign. It will be nasty — you will be dealing with people who truly have some very sick & demented ideas. But if you make it, I will see you at the Starting Gate!" he ranted on X in April 2019. A month later, Trump was calling Biden "Sleepy Creepy Joe."

However, as his legal woes worsened, another nickname emerged, "Crooked Joe," accompanied by baseless accusations that Biden was behind his opponent's supposed persecution. Trump announced that he was bestowing the long-held Hillary Clinton nickname on Biden instead during a New Hampshire rally in August 2023. "He'll be known from now on as 'Crooked Joe Biden,'" he decreed.

Meanwhile, Biden attempted to hit back, but sadly, he failed — massively. "Trump is out there tweeting again this morning. I call him 'President Tweety!'" he proclaimed in a May 2019 video message. Needless to say, it didn't catch on.

Back in the day, Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis were in the throes of a blossoming bromance. The governor of Florida had been slow to endorse Trump, but he eventually threw his support behind his 2016 presidential campaign. "If we want to defeat Hillary Clinton and have a chance to change the trajectory of our country, we need to unite behind the Republican ticket this November," DeSantis announced in a May 2016 statement. Trump returned the favor in 2018, posting a gushing message of support on X and urging his followers to vote for DeSantis in his gubernatorial race.

Trump even said he was open to DeSantis being a possible running mate in his 2024 presidential campaign. "Certainly, Ron would be considered. He is a great guy," he told Fox Business in April 2021. But everything changed after DeSantis' name began circulating as a possible candidate for the top job. Trump branded his rival "Ron DeSanctimonious" during a mid-term rally in November 2022.

Bloomberg reported in March 2023 that Trump was floating other possible nicknames, including "Ron DisHonest," "Ron DeEstablishment," and "Tiny D." Sources told Rolling Stone that the latter was intended to hit DeSantis where it really hurts, by attacking the size of his manhood. However, once DeSantis fell back in line by withdrawing from the race and endorsing 45, Trump immediately switched gears. "He said, 'Will I be using the name Ron DeSanctimonious?'" Trump told reporters in January 2024. "I said, 'That name is officially retired.'"

Nikki Haley and Donald Trump's relationship has been a rollercoaster ride. "Every time someone criticizes him, he goes and makes a political attack back. That's not who we are as Republicans. That's not what we do," Haley insisted in a 2015 speech at the National Press Club. She backed Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz during the 2016 campaign, raising Trump's ire. "The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!" he posted on X in March 2016. She ultimately flip-flopped, endorsed Trump and was rewarded by being appointed his ambassador to the United Nations.

However, things turned sour once she entered the presidential race in February 2023. "MAGA, or I, will never go for Birdbrain Nikki Haley," Trump vowed on Truth Social in September 2023. He continued with the insult during a Sioux City, Iowa rally in October 2023. Then, Trump purportedly sent Haley a special gift to hammer the point home. "After a day of campaigning, this is the message waiting for me outside my hotel room," she captioned a photo of a birdcage, food, and a note "from Trump campaign."

"Chaos follows him. And we can't have a country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. We won't survive it," Haley said of her adversary in January 2024. Still, she performed a sharp 180 once again after dropping out of the presidential race in March. "So, I will be voting for Trump," Haley announced in May.

It started out so beautifully between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. "I have been glad to praise Donald Trump for speaking out boldly and brashly and for focusing on illegal immigration," Cruz told Politico in August 2015. "Well, it is a little bit of a romance," Donald told the BBC a month later. "I like him. He likes me."

It was all bets off, though, after the New York Times obtained audio of Cruz questioning Donald's acuity in December 2015. The two engaged in a brutal online battle culminating in Trump repeatedly calling Cruz a liar during a March 2016 GOP primary debate. Cruz attempted to retaliate. "I'm going to tell you what I really think of Donald Trump," he announced. "This man is a pathological liar. He doesn't know the difference between truth and lies." But Cruz could never out-Trump Trump — the nickname "Lyin' Ted" was hatched, and it stuck.

Still, following a familiar arch, Cruz was firmly aboard the Trump train by September. "Hillary Clinton is manifestly unfit to be president, and her policies would harm millions of Americans. And Donald Trump is the only thing standing in her way," he wrote in a Facebook post. It took two more years, but Trump finally publicly welcomed Cruz back into the fold again. "He's not Lyin' Ted anymore. He's Beautiful Ted," he said in October 2018 while on his way to stump for the senator. "I call him Texas Ted."

You'd never believe it now, but Donald Trump used to speak highly of Kamala Harris. "I would say the best opening so far would be Kamala Harris. I would say, in terms of the opening act, I would say, would be her," Trump replied in February 2019 when the New York Times asked who he believed to be the Democrats' strongest candidate. "I just think she seemed to have a little better opening act than others," he continued.

Trump was still singing Harris' praises when she was being touted as a possible vice president on Joe Biden's ticket in July 2020. "I think she'd be a fine choice, Kamala Harris. She'd be a fine choice," he told reporters. Things immediately shifted after Harris was picked, though. "She was very, very nasty to ... she was probably nastier than even Pocahontas [Elizabeth Warren] to Joe Biden," Trump said during a White House briefing in August 2020. "She was very disrespectful to Jo e Biden. And it's hard to pick somebody that's that disrespectful."

Still, it took until after the first presidential debate of 2024 for Harris to be awarded a nickname. "Respects to our potentially new Democrat Challenger, Laffin' Kamala Harris," Trump wrote in a July 4 Truth Social rant. And never fear. If the moniker doesn't catch on, Trump has a backup. His campaign advisors, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, referred to Harris as "Cackling Copilot Kamala Harris" in a statement issued the day before (via the Daily Beast).