Trump's new insult 'Panican' becomes part of tariff debate
Fresh from Donald Trump’s insult factory is a new word: Panican.
Trump unveiled the linguistic invention Monday in social media posts calling out those critical of his newly imposed tariffs.
“The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO. Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!). Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result,” Trump wrote on Truth Social and X.
Trump’s tariffs, announced last Wednesday, sent U.S. and global markets tumbling last week and again Monday and had some economists predicting pain for American consumers.
Use of Panican gained some momentum online Tuesday as U.S. markets showed signs of life, with the S&P 500 up as much as 4.1% during morning trading. By late afternoon, all three major stock market indexes were in the red, with the S&P down 1.8%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.99% and the Nasdaq down 2.34%.
It remains to be seen whether Panican will catch on and join the pantheon of other notable Trump insults (Sleepy Joe, Crooked Hillary, Lyin’ Ted), catchphrases (Make America Great Again) and made-up words (covfefe). But it has gained some attention, both good and bad.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, a staunch supporter of Trump, was an early adopter, using the term in a Truth Social post made less than 40 minutes after the president’s initial post on Monday.
“PANICANS are losers and failures! Don’t be a PANICAN!” Greene wrote.
Comedian Jon Stewart, on the other hand, panned the new word on “The Daily Show.”
“The genius who gave us classics like Sleepy Joe and Crooked Hillary, just (expletive) out, ‘You’re a Panican’?” Stewart said before suggesting a few colorful insults of his own. “Did the overseas factory you had been sourcing your nicknames from get shut down during the tariff war?”
Some made light of the new word.
“Oh phew,” fictional California congressman Jack Kimble wrote Monday on X. “When I heard Trump created a new word PANICAN, I thought that meant we were invading Panama and Canada today.”
Oh phew. When I heard Trump created a new word PANICAN, I thought that meant we were invading Panama and Canada today
— Rep. Jack Kimble (@RepJackKimble) April 7, 2025
Tom Fontaine is director of politics and editorial standards at TribLive. He can be reached at tfontaine@triblive.com.
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