Did This Yiddish Word Predict the Rise of Trump?
Donald Trump Image by Getty Images
By Josefin Dolsten March 29, 2016
While many are grappling to offer explanations for the unlikely rise of Donald Trump, an obscure Yiddish word may actually have predicted his success.
Trumbenik means a boastful person, and the word bears a striking resemblance to the Republican front runner’s last name.
The Yiddish word comes from the Polish word for trumpet, and aptly describes Trump, who has been known to brag about anything from his wealth, to his penis size and his wife’s looks, writes Lev Raphael for the .
One of the definitions of the word is: “A blowhard, a braggart, a blower of his own horn,” according to “The Joys of Yiddish.”
The Republican front runner frequently cites his wealth as one of the reasons voters should support him.
At a presidential debate in September, Trump introduced himself by bragging about his earnings.
“I’m Donald Trump, I wrote ‘The Art of the Deal.’ I say not in a braggadocious way: I’ve made billions of billions of dollars making deals all over the world, and I want to put that talent to work for this country,” he said.
Last week Trump was criticized for sharing a post on Twitter that contained a picture of his wife, Melania Trump, next to an unflattering image of Heidi Cruz, the wife of Republican candidate Ted Cruz.
“@Don_Vito_08: “A picture is worth a thousand words” @realDonaldTrump #LyingTed #NeverCruz @MELANIATRUMP pic.twitter.com/5bvVEwMVF8”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2016
Trump’s critics have been mocking him by using an alternate spelling of his last name, Drumpf, which comedian John Oliver claimed was the candidate’s family name before it was anglicized.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Dive In
-
Fast Forward Trump administration can deport Mahmoud Khalil for undermining U.S. foreign policy on antisemitism, judge rules
-
Fast Forward Is the Passover Seder Zionist?
-
Fast Forward David Sassoon, the Jewish royal designer who dressed Princess Diana, dies at 92
-
Fast Forward For a second straight Passover, Jews mark Festival of Freedom while hostages remain in Gaza
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion My Jewish moms group ousted me because I work for J Street. Is this what communal life has come to?
- 2
Opinion I co-wrote Biden’s antisemitism strategy. Trump is making the threat worse
- 3
Opinion Stephen Miller’s cavalier cruelty misses the whole point of Passover
- 4
Film & TV How Marlene Dietrich saved me — or maybe my twin sister — and helped inspire me to become a lifelong activist
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture Jews thought Trump wanted to fight antisemitism. Why did he cut all of their grants?
-
Opinion Trump’s followers see a savior, but Jewish historians know a false messiah when they see one
-
Fast Forward Trump administration can deport Mahmoud Khalil for undermining U.S. foreign policy on antisemitism, judge rules
-
Opinion This Passover, let’s retire the word ‘Zionist’ once and for all
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.