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Trump mocked for exclamation point frenzy in statement on Saudi Arabia & Khashoggi murder
It's often assumed that statements from the US president are drafted and edited by writers, but Trump's most recent public release seems to read just like his tweets – and the internet was quick to tear it apart.
The statement explains Trump's decision to stand with Saudi Arabia despite the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, citing its role in combating terrorism and the $450 billion that Riyadh agreed to spend in a historic arms deal.
But the president's favorite method of communication was used against him once his critics on Twitter realized that the statement was full of apparent Trumpisms.
One person was quick to point out the excessive number of exclamation marks used in such a short statement – eight to be exact. This, he said, was almost certainly proof that Trump wrote it himself, given his love for that particular form of punctuation.
I can't recall any official statement of any kind before with so many exclamation marks.
— Janne Oivio (@JanneOivio) November 20, 2018
This in Trump's statement might be the dumbest exclamation point in history—
"Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event—maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!https://t.co/P4feUFKxGmpic.twitter.com/3RpPk88V7i
— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) November 20, 2018
Another said it reads like a YouTube comment, which aren't exactly known for their excellent use of grammar and spelling.
One person said Trump exhibited “third grade reasoning and vocabulary” in his statement, then apologized to primary school children everywhere if he offended them.
This is an incredibly unhinged statement by Trump about Saudi Arabia and Khashoggi's murder. A lot of exclamation points in it. Not sure why? His 3rd grade reasoning and vocabulary (apologies to all primary school children everywhere) were in particularly fine form though. NOT! pic.twitter.com/w2p2pOcxuq
— DenisCampbell (@ClientLoyaltyDC) November 20, 2018
Trump has the writing ability of a 1st grader. That’s a lot! Of! Exclamation! Points!
— Ana Beaverhausen (@ana_beaverhaus) November 20, 2018
Others suggested the content of the statement was written by someone else, with Trump's only contributions being the exclamation points.
Trump's contributions = the exclamation points
— lark benobi
