President Donald Trump’s offhand remark about kids only getting “two dolls instead of 30” has turned into a viral meme.
During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump made what many are calling a bizarre comment while discussing tariffs on Chinese imports. “They made a trillion dollars with Biden selling us stuff. Much of it we don’t need. Somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are gonna be open.’ Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls,” he said, brushing off concerns about rising consumer costs due to his tariff plan. He added that the two dolls might “cost a couple of bucks more.”
Almost immediately, the internet responded, not with panic or pleasure at this new development, but with parody. Trump was quickly dubbed “Donny 2 Dolls” by Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC’s The Last Word, a nickname that sounds more fitting for a mafioso than the president of the United States. The phrase started trending as users leaned into the mob-boss vibes, posting memes that imagined Trump as a toy-stealing crime boss.
Criticism came from both likely and unlikely places
Even conservative media took issue with Trump’s insensitive doll analogy. The New York Post, a paper usually aligned with Trump, featured a critical headline on its cover following his remarks. Meanwhile, experts and politicians piled on.
Senator Bernie Sanders responded sharply during a CNN interview, saying, “Billionaires like Musk and Trump do not have a clue about what it means for a working-class family trying to buy presents for the kids.”
Economist Justin Wolfers explained on MSNBC that Trump’s scenario wasn’t just problematic, it was economically troubling. “When there’s a decline in real income, which is what the president just promised us, we call that a recession. And if you move from 30 dolls to two dolls, that’s a 94% decline in purchasing power. We call that a depression,” Wolfers warned.
Journalist Carl Quintanilla summed up the fiasco on Bluesky, saying, “The doll thing is visual, memorable and highly specific. He’s going to wish he could take that one back.”
But for now, the damage is done. Trump’s casual remark has become the internet’s latest running joke.
Check out 20 of the funniest Donny Two Dolls memes below!
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