Early on Tuesday, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to accuse Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio of stealing his 2020 presidential campaign slogan, "Promises Made, Promises Kept."
"That's not at all nice," Trump wrote of de Blasio, who is not currently campaigning for re-election (he was re-elected last year). "No imagination!"
De Blasio "appeared in front of a sign declaring “Promises Made, Promises Kept” at a groundbreaking for a new, 1000-seat school in East New York on Monday," the New York Post reported. The mayor's office said their use of the slogan was purely coincidental.
"This is stupid," City Hall spokesman Eric Phillips quipped. "It’s not the most novel turn of phrase."
But as MSNBC producer Kyle Griffin noted, "Promises Made, Promises Kept" is not a Trump original. In fact, the president borrowed the phrase from President Bill Clinton's re-election bid in 1996.
Chelsea Clinton responded to Griffin: "Perfect. Simply perfect."
And one Twitter user pointed out that "Promises Made, Promises Kept" was also used at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Michigan Gov. John Engler (R) and Chicago Mayor Harold Washington (D) used this slogan as well - decades ago.
So did a mortgage company.
Perhaps even more perfect is that Trump has usurped not one but two presidential campaign slogans - Clinton/Gore 1996 - and Ronald Reagan's slogan in 1980: "Let's Make America Great Again."
The White Nationalist newspaper The Crusader also employed "Make America Great Again."
Another of Trump's political catchphrases, "America First," first appeared on a coin issued by the Ku Klux Klan.
Trump has taken credit for other phrases as well. In October 2017, the president falsely boasted that he had invented the term "fake news."
Trump told CNN's Lou Dobbs:
I think one of the best names is — you know, I've really started this whole 'fake news' thing. Now they've turned it around and then, now, they're calling, you know, stories put out by different — by Facebook 'fake.
"This is the opposite of what happened in real life on planet Earth," wrote Callum Borchers of the Washington Post.
Social media was ruthless in its mockery of the president.
"He stole it first."
"From campaign slogans to email," one user wrote, referring to Trump's plea to Russia to hack and steal Hillary Clinton's emails.
"The original fake president." Oof.
"The amazing ego of the toddler-in-chief makes him think everything originates with him."
Is this what is meant by "Be Best?"
A couple people itemized Trump's broken promises.
Then there was this whopper.
Another called out other times Trump has used someone else's idea.
Trump can be credited with one memorable line, though.
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