On the eve of the 2024 presidential election at look at some of Donald Trump’s most memorable and meme-able moments

Donald Trump has been the most dominant figure in American politics for the past decade and on the eve of his third consecutive presidential election we look back at his most viral and meme-able moments.

Trump, 78, courts publicity and ridicule in equal measure for the sometimes silly and other times outlandish remarks he makes.

The Republican nominee, who most recently took aim at his political rival Kamala Harris by working at McDonald’s and driving a garbage truck, has on numerous occasions been the subject of humorous quips or embarrassing gaffes.

Both MAGA fans and critics alike have poked fun at the former president by turning some of his most memorable moments into memes.

From placing his hands on a glowing orb like a character out of Lord of the Rings, to shouting at a young boy mowing the White House lawn or shoving his way to the center of a NATO group photo, DailyMail.com takes a look at some of the internet’s favorite Trump moments.

‘I give myself an A+’

Donald Trump, following his first month as president, said he believed he deserved an A+ for effort, but only a ‘C’ for messaging.

Trump during a February 28, 2017 interview on Fox & Friends gave his presidential performance an initial grade. 

He said that ‘in terms of effort, which means something, I give myself an A-plus.’ But when it came to delivering his messages said, ‘I would give myself a C or a C plus.’

The then-president said specifically that his White House could have done a better job communicating with the American people about his plan to deport criminal illegal immigrants. 

It wasn’t ‘communicated effectively,’ Trump admitted. ‘And maybe that’s my fault.’  

‘He died like a dog’

Five years ago, Donald Trump announced that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ‘died like a dog’ as the result of a US Special Ops forces raid on his hideout in northwest Syria.

‘Last night the United State brought the world’s number one terrorist leader to justice. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead,’ Trump said from the Diplomatic Reception Room on October 27, 2019.

‘He was the founder and leader of ISIS, the most ruthless and violent terror organization anywhere in the world,’ Trump continued as he described the events of the raid.

Al-Baghdadi detonated his suicide vest, killing himself and three children, during an overnight targeted attack in Syria’s Idlib province, the then-president confirmed.

Trump touted the operation and al-Baghdadi’s death as ‘bigger than bin Laden.’ Osama bin Laden, founder of Al-Qaeda and the terrorist leader behind the September 11 terrorist attacks, was killed in 2011 during a Navy SEALs operation during Barack Obama’s presidency.

He also referred to al-Baghdadi and those who followed him as ‘losers,’ and lauded that no US personnel were lost during the raid. He did say, however, that one ‘talented canine’ was injured. 

Trump, the night before making the public announcement confirming al-Baghdadi’s death, teased the incident by tweeting: ‘Something very big has just happened!’

Touching the ‘magic orb’ 

X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, erupted with memes just five months into Donald Trump’s presidency after photographs emerged of him during a traditional Saudi sword ceremony. 

Trump was seen placing his hands on a glowing orb with King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the World Center for Countering Extremist Thought on May 21, 2017. 

The orb lit up as the leaders laid their hands on it, apparently activating a wall of computers in front of them which are programmed to monitor and target terrorist activity online.

Officially, it marked the opening of the center which the president heralded as a world first in joint efforts with the Middle East to crack down on violent radicalism. 

The internet, as ever, had other ideas and erupted into memes mocking the unlikely scene. They compared it to something out of Lord of The Rings, Star Wars or Harry Potter.

Trumps shoves his way to center of NATO group photo 

A Trump moment went viral for the wrong reason on May 23, 2017, as the then-president and the leaders of 27 other NATO member countries assembled for a photo at the treaty organization’s gleaming new Brussels, Belgium headquarters. 

As Donald Trump made his way through the group to take his position in the front row next to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Montenegro’s Prime Minister Duško Marković was in his way.

So Trump put his hand on Marković’s upper arm and shoved him aside. 

The ‘family photo’ was planned with assigned positions for 31 people: the 28 heads of state and the Montenegrin, plus Stoltenberg, and the king and prime minister of Belgium, the host country.

Trump, Stoltenberg and the Belgians were set to be front-row center, with British Prime Minister Theresa May on Trump’s other side. Marković was placed in the back row on the far right end.

After the incident, Trump told reporters that the whole situation was harmless 

‘It didn’t really register. I just saw reactions about it on social networks, he said. ‘It is simply a harmless situation.’

Markovic, at the time, added that it is ‘natural that the president of the United States is in the front row.’

‘Who can figure out the true meaning of “covfefe”?’

Donald Trump broke the internet in May 2017 when he posted an incoherent tweet featuring the non-existent word ‘covfefe’.

‘Despite the constant negative press covfefe,’ Trump tweeted, inspiring intense speculation about what ‘covfefe’ is. 

The tweet was left up for more than five hours before Trump chimed in saying, ‘Who can figure out the true meaning of “covfefe” ??? Enjoy!’ 

Yahoo News’ Hunter Walker broached the topic at an off-camera press briefing asking then-Press Secretary Sean Spicer if ‘people should be concerned that the president posted somewhat of an incoherent tweet last night and it then stayed up for hours?’

First Spicer simply answered, ‘no.’ 

Then, when Walker prodded him and asked why the tweet stayed up for so long, Spicer implied that it was done purposely. 

‘The president and a small group of people knew exactly what he meant,’ Spicer answered. 

Of course, it prompted a fresh round of ribbing for Trump, who was accused of a clumsy attempt to cover up his mistake.

Many joked the half-finished tweet was the result of one of Trump’s aides ripping his phone from his hands.

Others claimed it was a new take on Trump’s famous slogan, which is now: ‘Make America covfefe again!’

Other tweets joked ‘covfefe’ could be anything from the nuclear launch codes to the title of a new release at cinemas soon, to the thing you make when life gives you lemons. 

Trump ‘yelling’ at boy mowing White House lawn 

Social media users turned a the moment Donald Trump interacted with a young boy who was mowing the White House lawn into a satirical meme.

Frank Giaccio, then 11, pushed a lawn mower through the Rose Garden on September 15, 2017 after the youngster had written to the President saying it was his dream to do so.

Giaccio got to cut the grass after spending the morning with a White House groundskeeper touring the 18 acres that surround America’s presidential mansion. 

When Trump walked out to meet the Virginia boy, Giaccio didn’t stop. He kept his safety goggles on and earplugs in, and kept pushing the Honda mower. 

‘Wow! Great job, Frank! Great job!’ Trump said.

Photographers and video camera operators laughed as Giaccio kept going and Trump was forced to walk alongside him – pronouncing his lawn-cutting ‘perfect’ and asking: ‘Have you done this before?’

But one photograph, where it appeared that Trump was yelling at Giaccio, went viral with social media users jokingly pairing it with captions where they imagined he was yelling at someone who was uninterested in what he had to say.

Trump ‘wants to buy Greenland’ 

The internet flooded with hilarious memes in August 2019 after it was revealed that then-President Donald Trump was eyeing up the island of Greenland. 

Two sources told the Wall Street Journal that Trump had repeatedly asked his advisers with ‘varying degrees of seriousness’ if it would be possible for the US to acquire the autonomous Danish territory for its resources and geopolitical significance.

It’s unclear how exactly the US would go about buying the largest island in the world following previous unsuccessful attempts by the US in 1946 and 1867. 

‘What do you guys think about that?’ Trump asked a table of associates in spring 2018 when the idea of buying the island first came to be, a source told the Wall Street Journal. ‘Do you think it would work?’ 

Social media users, of course, had a field day at the news.

Actress Bette Midler wrote: ‘Trump wants to buy Greenland? Let’s make him find it on a map first.’ 

A former national press secretary to Hillary Clinton jokingly compared it to Trump’s bold campaign promise that Mexico would pay for a border wall. 

Meanwhile writer Jon Gabriel posted an image of a town in Greenland with a huge golden Trump Tower photoshopped in, with the caption: ‘Greenland in 10 years.’

Hurricane ‘Sharpiegate’

Hilarious #Sharpiegate memes flood social media in September 2019 after then-President Donald Trump brazenly shared a map of an old Hurricane Dorian forecast that was altered with the permanent marker. 

Trump presented an altered National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration map at a hurricane briefing.

The White House did not disclose that the map bearing the weather service’s logo had been changed in any way, but it was hardly a secret – the black mark was clearly done in sharpie, Trump’s favored medium.

Trump declined altering the map and said he did not know who made the changes. He told reporters at the time: ‘I don’t know. I don’t know, I don’t know.’

But ‘sharpie’ still trended on Twitter, the social media platform now known as X, with many taking the silly moment as a prime chance to poke fun at Trump’s antics. 

Several users shared doctored images of President Trump’s inauguration celebration, drawing little figurines in the crowd. 

Trump claims ‘fake news’ over tan line photo

Donald Trump is not one to shy away from social media discourse and in February 2020 took to Twitter, now known as X, to criticize a photo that was altered to show him with an unflattering tan line around his face.

‘More Fake News. This was photoshopped, obviously, but the wind was strong and the hair looks good? Anything to demean!’ Trump tweeted on February 8, 2020, responding to a man from Denmark who mocked the photo as showing him in ‘orangeface’.

The photo was taken on the White House South Lawn by mysterious photographer William Moon and does appear to be edited significantly in comparison with other photos taken by the White House pool.

In a statement to DailyMail.com at the time, Moon admitted that he had altered the photo, saying: ‘The picture was never photoshopped, but used the Apple smartphone’s photo app to adjust the color of the picture.’

Trump himself had previously joked about his skin tone, saying in September 2019 that energy-saving light bulbs make him ‘always look orange.’ 

Suggesting bleach might be the way to treat Covid

Donald Trump went viral just one month into the coronavirus pandemic, when he proposed unorthodox new treatments for the virus during a White House briefing, including injecting cleaning agents in the body and use of ultraviolet lights. 

Trump, who studied finance and real estate but touts his gut instincts about medical and scientific issues, brought up possible treatments during a press conference on April 23, 2020.

Trump asked William Bryan, then a senior Homeland Security science and technology advisor: ‘Supposing we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light? And I think you said, that hasn’t been checked but you’re going to test it. 

‘And then I said supposing you brought the light inside the body which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you’re going to test that too. Sounds interesting.’

Then he raised another possible treatment. ‘And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute, and is there a way we can do something like that? By injection inside or almost a cleaning. As you see it gets in the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that,’ Trump said.

‘So that you’re going to have to use medical doctors. But it sounds interesting to me,’ he said. 

It came after Bryan delivered a report claiming that ultraviolet rays and heat have a potent impact on the pathogen. 

The ‘study’ – which was not peer-reviewed and therefore is not a fully-fledged piece of research – also uncovered that bleach can destroy the virus when isolated from saliva within five minutes, while isopropyl alcohol took just a minute to kill it. 

Both of those were when the virus was outside the body. 

‘I’ve now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala’

The internet went wild for Donald Trump two weeks ago when he got behind the fryer at a McDonald’s in the Philadelphia suburbs and manned the drive-thru counter in a bid to undermine his rival, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

‘I’ve now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala,’ Trump said after working at the fast food restaurant on October 20, revisiting his claim that Harris didn’t work at McDonald’s as a college student as she says she did. 

Harris, 60, throughout her campaign has touted how she worked at a California branch of the fast food franchise, although her camp hasn’t furnished any photos of her youthful job there. Trump claims that Harris is ‘lying’ and never worked at the restaurant, but has not provided any evidence to back that up.

Video captured from within the kitchen showed Trump passing out orders to a group of grateful prearranged ‘customers’ – Trump supporters understood to have been pre-selected by his camp – who were were to see the ex-president serving their food and told him why they’ll be supporting him in the election.

Trump removed his suit jacket, put on a black and yellow apron and proceeded to cook batches of french fries, something he said he had wanted to do ‘all my life’.

‘I’m looking for a job. And I’ve always wanted to work at McDonald’s but I never did,’ Trump said as he introduced himself to franchise owner Derek Giacomantonio. ‘I’m running against somebody that said she did, but it turned out to be a totally phony story.’ 

‘So, if you don’t mind, I want to work the French fry counter. How much are you paying me?’ the billionaire ex-president said with a laugh. 

Trump then proceeded to dip wire baskets of potatoes in sizzling oil before salting them and handing them out to customers through the restaurant’s drive-through window. Thousands of people lined the street opposite the restaurant to watch.

He dodged most policy questions, including whether he backs an increase in the minimum wage, but did use the opportunity to take aim at his rival.

‘I’ve now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala,’ Trump said, revisiting his claim that his rival didn’t work at McDonald’s as a student as she says she did. 

Asked by a reporter why Harris would lie about working at the restaurant, Trump replied, ‘Because she’s “lying Kamala,”‘ applying a moniker.

Harris spokesman Ian Sams told Reuters that the stunt was a sign of the real estate mogul’s desperation.

‘All he knows how to do is lie,’ he said. ‘He can’t understand what it’s like to have a summer job because he was handed millions on a silver platter, only to blow it.’

The Harris campaign added that the Vice President worked the cash register, ice cream machine and fry machine at a McDonald’s in Alameda, California in 1983.

‘How do you like my garbage truck?’ 

Donald Trump went viral last week when he trolled Joe Biden and Kamala Harris by riding a MAGA garbage truck to his rally in Wisconsin on Wednesday night.

The former president rolled up to reporters on the tarmac in Green Bay, leaning out the window to take questions before his event in the battleground which is one of the seven states that will decide the election.

‘How do you like my garbage truck? This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden,’ he told the waiting media while wearing an orange workman’s vest.

‘For Joe Biden to make that statement — it’s really a disgrace,’ he added before speaking to supporters while Harris addressed her own fans in a different part of the state.

Trump was referring to the comments made by 81-year-old Biden that referred to his supporters as ‘garbage.’ The President said: ‘The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.’

The White House later clarified his words with an apostrophe in the transcript, and claimed the president was only talking about comedian Tony Hinchcliffe calling Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage.’

Kamala Harris tried Wednesday to distance herself from her chief’s remarks.  

The side of the truck was emblazoned with a Trump sign and had an American flag on the window. 

As the 78-year-old GOP nominee leaned out the side, wearing an orange reflective vest, he took questions from the press.

One asked if he owes Puerto Rico an apology over comedian Tony Hinchcliffe calling it a ‘floating island of garbage’ during his Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday.

‘I love Puerto Rico. And Puerto Rico loves me. I don’t know anything about a comedian’, Trump said. 

‘Nobody has done more for Puerto Rico than me. Nobody gets along better with Puerto Rico. They love me and I love them.’