Why Donald Trump Is Suddenly Getting Attention Thanks To A Sharpie

Donald Trump was famous for a number of things during his term in office, from his handling of the border crisis to his bout with COVID-19 to Trump's favorite (but gross) McDonald's order: a Big Mac, Filet-O-Fish, a side of fries, and a vanilla shake (via New York Post). He was also well known for preferring a black Sharpie for taking notes. The Washington Post once ran a photo essay showing some of the many ways Trump used the marker during his administration. For instance, he marked up his script for a press conference on COVID to change the word "coronavirus" to "Chinese virus." He was spotted holding Sharpie-penned notes when he met with families of the victims of the Parkland, Florida school shooting; the cheat sheet apparently reminded him to tell the grieving parents, "I hear you."

Also memorable was the time in 2019 when Hurricane Dorian was making its way toward the southern U.S. Per Politico, Trump inaccurately warned that the storm would reach as far as Alabama. When the National Weather Service issued a rebuttal, the president continued to insist that Alabama was in the hurricane's path. At one point, Trump held a briefing in which he displayed a map of the storm's path. The image appeared to have been altered with a black marker to extend the storm area to southern Alabama. The president denied having drawn on the map, then said the "Fake News" was covering up the truth.

Trump may not be in the White House anymore, but his Sharpie is still getting noticed. He used it to great effect at a rally over the weekend.  

Former president Donald Trump has been spending much of his post-White House time on the road, stumping for conservative candidates. Over the weekend of October 1, he appeared at a Save America rally in Michigan, telling the crowd, "[W]e are on a mission to restore the republic to greatness," and repeating his familiar claim that "the [2020] election was rigged and stolen" (via Newsmax).

Trump closed his appearance by throwing red "Save America" baseball caps into the crowd. A fan tossed their cap back at the former POTUS, along with a black Sharpie. As seen in this tweeted clip, Trump easily caught the items, then signed the cap and flipped both hat and pen back to their owner. Former first son Donald Trump Jr., who often defends his dad online, retweeted the post, commenting, "Biden can't bring a fricken bicycle to a stop and Trump is out there catching Sharpies out of midair." 

Twitter followers quickly reminded Don Jr. of incidents when his father wasn't quite as dexterous, such as the time he held a glass of water with both hands to drink (via New York Daily News). They also brought up Trump's past history with Sharpies: "Raise your hand if you remember when Donald Trump used a Sharpie to redraw the hurricane map," said one. A second scoffer agreed, "Trump couldn't even walk down a ramp, much less get on a bike, but we already know he's good with Sharpies."