Donald Trump’s claim that he invented the phase “prime the pump” has been met with raised eyebrows.
Trump made the comments when discussing his tax plans in an interview with The Economist published on Thursday and was widely mocked online for taking credit for the phrase’s invention.
“Have you heard that expression used before?” He said. “Because I haven’t heard it. I mean, I just… I came up with it a couple of days ago and I thought it was good. It’s what you have to do.”
The Merriam-Webster Twitter account doled out the usual levels of sass, telling Trump the phrase actually dates back to the 19th century, giving detail about its meaning and origin.
The phrase 'priming the pump' dates to the early 19th century.
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) May 11, 2017
'Pump priming' has been used to refer to government investment expenditures since at least 1933. https://t.co/VfkGwwzZRC
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) May 11, 2017
We enter 'prime the pump' under 'prime' in our dictionary. https://t.co/PDmlEVrPpw pic.twitter.com/aqUCVRNrci
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) May 11, 2017
Other Twitter users also piled in, coming up with other things the 45th president could have invented.
Trump invented the internet. I mean, he didn't invent it, he just came up with the name.
— Charlie (@CharlieReed2004) May 11, 2017
Trump also invented the cheeseburger
— Marcelo Duran (@guyincognito) May 11, 2017
Also invented by Trump – too cool for school https://t.co/EkSDk4kjJc
— Artyom (@ArtyomTonoyan) May 11, 2017
So I told these guys "say cheese" for this photo. Ever heard the phrase? I invented it. #PrimeThePump https://t.co/nwrI9nMTsc
— Anon E. Mousse-Lee (@AnonEMousseLee) May 11, 2017
What will he come up with next? We’ll have to wait and see.