On Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump posted a somewhat obscure tweet on social media, saying, "Big increase in traffic into our country from certain areas, while our people are far more vulnerable, as we wait for what should be EASY D!" The tweet left many users perplexed, wondering—what does "easy D" mean, exactly?
The most obvious answer to the "easy D" quandary (and the apparent consensus among several media outlets) is that Trump, likely looking to stay within Twitter's character limit, was using an abbreviation for "easy decision." This easy decision would refer to the ongoing appellate court case which is deciding the fate of Trump's currently on-hold executive order. This order bans refugees and individuals from seven predominately Muslim countries from entering the United States.
However, while Trump more than likely was referring to the fact that he thinks the court case should be an "easy decision" when he used the phrase "easy D," his choice of abbreviation, perhaps expectantly, resulted in a flurry of activity on Twitter.
Many users made fun of Trump's use of the phrase, asking if "Easy D" constituted his new nickname. Other users pointed out the litany of potential innuendoes associated with the phrase and also revealed that Google searches for the phrase were "spiking" after Trump's tweet. Thus, it certainly seems that Trump's tweet is garnering a lot of attention, though perhaps not in the way he expected.
While it was seeking to address a serious subject, Trump's (likely unintentionally funny) tweet perhaps provides a moment of levity in a social media environment normally characterized by tension and nervous anticipation when it comes to wondering what President Trump will tweet next. The Guardian aptly describes the "welcome respite" impact of the "Easy D" tweet, saying,
"Much of America and the world awaits each of Donald Trump’s tweets with increasing anxiety, as he uses them to systematically undermine the separation of powers, attack companies he believes have damaged his family’s interests, and decree that any bad news about him is a lie...Perhaps then, some on Twitter could be forgiven for taking a bit of time out on Wednesday to point and laugh at one of the more bizarre pronouncements to come from the White House pulpit since Trump took office."
Overall, while Trump should absolutely be more cognizant of his phrasing when publishing tweets, his "easy D" tweet did unintentionally inspire a lot of creativity and entertaining moments on social media, in which hundreds of users crafted some pretty impressive responses to his tweet. The phrase "easy D" will likely resonate with many people for years to come, a fate which Trump likely never could have imagined.
