Trump: ‘Yo-Semites.’ Us: ‘Hello!’ Listen to our rap!
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By PJ Grisar August 4, 2020
In an August 4 speech at the White House, President Trump was invoking the beauty of our national parks when he stumbled on the words “Yosemite’s towering sequoias.” He said “yo-Semites,” to which we say: “Hi!”
Here’s the clip pic.twitter.com/b4NtCuEa2z
— Brennan Murphy (@brenonade) August 4, 2020
Jewish Twitter, naturally, had a field day.
In honor of this momentous occasion of national visibility — and our previously unknown ownership of some mighty impressive arbors — we have produced a novelty rap to mark the occasion, which, on the nakhes-o-meter far surpasses even Jonathan Swan’s impressive interview with the president last night. Without further ado, the “Yo Semites Rap.”
(Verse to the tune of this Ronald Reagan rap)
Yo, Semites, have you heard the news?
The Pres gave us a mention — but he didn’t mean Jews.
There at a White House event today
Trump said some words he didn’t mean to say_
Honoring Yosemite’s mighty sequoias
He said “Yo-Semites,” and now for the chorus:
(Chorus and bridge to the tune of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise”)
We’ve been spending most of our lives living like yo-Semites
Wearing the t-shirt right living like yo-Semites
Those national parks are tight when you’re a yo-Semite
Tell me why is he so blind to see
That that was an apostrophe?
Tell me are we so blind to see
That Trump just meant to praise those trees?
Tell me is this a Jewish victory?
We’ll take the win with dignity.
PJ Grisar is the Forward’s culture reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
