The “Because At 7 It’s Marginal Right” meme takes a line by President Donald Trump from 2018 to make a joke about crossing age lines. On Christmas Eve that year, Trump was taking calls from children in the White House and told one young caller that at the age of seven, he might be too old to believe in Santa Claus anymore.
“Are you still a believer in Santa?” he asked. “Because at 7, it’s marginal, right? Well, you just enjoy yourself.”
Many viewers of this event or the clip that spread on social media after it happened were aghast that Trump might have shattered the fantasy for some random seven-year-old. Over six years later, it remains an annual meme tradition.
Meme basics:
- Meme Creator: Bill Kristol
- Meme Type: Exploitable quote
- First Appearance: Dec. 25, 2018
- Origin Source: Donald Trump / X
- Used to Convey: Age-belief boundaries
What is the ‘Because At 7 It’s Marginal Right’ meme?
The meme takes the original quote and changes the question that precedes the key phrase. Depending on the context, the age is also likely to vary. For example, someone like X user @angelinrealtime might ask “are you still a believer in true love? because at 32, it’s marginal, right?”
![Tweet reading '[on a date]: are you still a believer in true love? because at 32, it’s marginal, right?'](https://uploads.dailydot.com/2025/03/because-at-7-its-marginal-right-8.png?auto=compress&fm=png)
The purpose of this meme is to reference one of those hilariously bizarre moment from the first Trump administration while also making a joke about when a person is too old for a specific belief or activity. Meme posts often come with a screenshot of Trump on the phone or a similar image.
These memes might question the belief about a concept as broad and intangible as “love” or as specific as “neutral principles restraining the immediate enforcement of values.” Alternatively, they could be about a behavior such as celebrating one’s birthday or bothering to sort out the plastic recycling.
Meme origins and spread
On Dec. 24, 2018, Donald and Melania Trump sat in the White House and fielded calls from children wanting to know where Santa was on his journey to bring presents to all the good little kids in the world. At one point, Donald spoke to a seven-year-old by the name of Coleman and asked the rather risky question.
Because the very question may have spoiled the kid’s belief in Santa by suggesting that he might not be real, some Trump critics expressed shock and outrage over the incident. Others mocked him for what they felt was another moment showing how little he thinks before he speaks. Regardless of political opinion, many found the clip that spread across what was then called Twitter highly amusing.
The first viral use of the quote as a meme came from neoconservative writer and news commentator Bill Kristol, who strongly opposed the nomination of Trump as the Republican presidential candidate in 2016. He used the opportunity presented by the President’s questions that night as a jab.
“Are you still a believer in Trump?” he tweeted. “Because at seven it’s marginal, right?”
He gained 33,000 likes for this Christmas morning post and inspired many imitators. After the initial wave of meme tweets, jokes about the “because at 7 it’s marginal right” line reemerged around late December each year.
Early 2025 resurgence
In March of 2025, the number of X posts referencing that moment from 2018 surged outside of the Christmas season. This likely has a lot to do with the fact that Trump began his second term earlier this year and hasn’t let anyone forget it. His flurry of activity including purging federal departments and repeatedly starting and stopping tariffs has everyone’s attention.
On March 3, 2025, user @ouroboros_outis posted a screenshot from the 2018 clip of Trump on the phone with the joke about recycling.
“Are you still a believer in plastic recycling?” they wrote. “Because at 32, it’s marginal, right?”
They gained over 693,000 views and 24,000 likes with this post and helped to fuel an off-season wave for the meme.
‘Because At 7 It’s Marginal’ meme examples
More Donald Trump memes:
- ‘Donald Trump Announces…’ meme makes a mockery of Trump’s new appointments
- ‘It’s a doge eat doge world’: The internet reacts after Trump signs a flurry of executive orders on day one
- Trump’s plan to rename the Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ kicks off meme blitz
- ‘They’re eating the dogs’: An old dog whistle learns new tricks
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