Make America Great Again

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
A "Let's Make America Great Again" pin button from Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign
Donald Trump wearing a Make America Great Again hat in 2016.

"Make America Great Again" is a campaign slogan used in American politics that originated with the Ronald Reagan campaign of 1980. Donald Trump subsequently applied for and received a US service mark for the slogan.

History[edit]

Created in 1979[1] when the United States was suffering from a worsening economy at home marked by stagflation,[2][3] it was first used in Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign.[4][5] The slogan was also used by former President Bill Clinton in his 1992 presidential campaign, although he later claimed the statement was a racist dog whistle during the 2016 election.[6][7]

Use by Donald Trump[edit]

Banner displaying "Vote To Make America Great Again" on a roadside in California shortly after the November 2016 election.

Trump applied to trademark the slogan in November 2012, and it was registered as a service mark as of July 2015.[8][9] Trump used it during his 2016 presidential campaign, particularly by wearing hats bearing the phrase.[10] Following Trump's election, the website of his presidential transition was established at greatagain.gov.[11]

Use by others[edit]

After Donald Trump popularized the use of the phrase, the phrase and modifications of the phrase became widely used to refer to his election campaign and his politics. Opponent Ted Cruz sold hats featuring "Make Trump Debate Again" in response to Trump boycotting the Iowa January 28, 2016 debate.[12]

The most widespread use of the phrase and its variants were in media, especially television comedies. In the 2015 South Park episode "Where My Country Gone?", supporters of Mr. Garrison, who runs a campaign that is a parody of Trump's, are seen holding signs bearing the slogan.[13] Fall Out Boy's remix album Make America Psycho Again,[14] comedian David Cross' stand-up tour "Making America Great Again".[15]

John Oliver spoofed the slogan in a segment of his show, urging viewers to "Make Donald Drumpf Again" in reference to the original name of Trump's ancestors.[16][17] The segment broke HBO viewership records, garnering 85 million views.[17] WWE star Darren Young and former star Bob Backlund began appearing on WWE TV in May 2016 with Backlund acting as Young's life coach, promising to "Make Darren Young Great Again".[18][19]

The slogan was also modified for use in commercial contexts such as film posters and advertisements.The tagline for the film The Purge: Election Year was "Keep America Great", included on posters and faux election promos.[20] In September 2016, The Berrics released the campaign series, "Make EA Skate Again", urging Electronic Arts to develop Skate 4.[21][22] The General Mills campaign, "Smugglaroos", which encourages Canadians to bring Dunk-a-roos to America, where the product has been discontinued, has the slogan "Make America Dunk Again"[23]

References[edit]

  1. ^ David Martosko (May 12, 2015). "EXCLUSIVE: Trump trademarked slogan 'Make America Great Again' just DAYS after the 2012 election and says Ted Cruz has agreed not to use it again after Scott Walker booms it TWICE in speech". Dailymail.co.uk. 
  2. ^ "Ronald Reagan's Classic 1980 Campaign Poster Challenges Voters, "Let's Make America Great Again"". Iagreetosee.com. Retrieved August 25, 2015. 
  3. ^ Matt Taibbi (March 25, 2015). "Donald Trump Claims Authorship of Legendary Reagan Slogan; Has Never Heard of Google". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 27, 2016. 
  4. ^ "Trump: The Last Time America Was Great Was During the Reagan Administration [VIDEO]". Daily Caller.com. Retrieved August 25, 2015. 
  5. ^ "Presidential Politics, 20th Century Style: Reagan-Carter". MHHE.com. Retrieved August 25, 2015. 
  6. ^ Chasmar, Jessica (September 9, 2016). "Bill Clinton vowed to 'make America great again' in 1992, now says slogan is racist". Retrieved September 10, 2016. 
  7. ^ Margolin, Emma (September 9, 2016). "Who really first came up with the phrase 'Make America Great Again'?". NBC. Retrieved September 10, 2016. 
  8. ^ "U.S. Service Mark 4,773,272". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved 18 November 2016. 
  9. ^ "Donald Trump trademarked "Make America Great Again"". Business Insider.com. Retrieved August 25, 2015. 
  10. ^ "Why Donald Trump has given up on the hat". The Washington Post. January 25, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2016. 
  11. ^ Smith, Allan (November 10, 2016). "'Great again': Donald Trump's .gov website is now live". Business Insider. Retrieved November 12, 2016. 
  12. ^ Bradford Richardson (January 27, 2016). "Cruz sells 'Make Trump Debate Again' hats". The Hill. Retrieved January 27, 2016. 
  13. ^ "'South Park' Depicts the Brutal Rape of Donald Trump". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 25, 2015. 
  14. ^ "Fall Out Boy Shares Disney 'Jungle Book' Cover, Plots Rapper-Filled Remix Album". Billboard. October 23, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015. 
  15. ^ Dan Snierson (January 5, 2016). "David Cross announces 'Making America Great Again!' nationwide stand-up tour". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 28, 2016. 
  16. ^ John Koblin, John Oliver Sells Out of 'Make Donald Drumpf Again' Caps, New York Times (March 8, 2016).
  17. ^ a b Julia Zorthian, John Oliver's 'Donald Drumpf' Segment Broke HBO Viewing Records, Time (March 31, 2016).
  18. ^ Andre Vergara (May 6, 2016). "Bob Backlund returns to WWE to 'make Darren Young great again'". FoxSports.com. Retrieved May 13, 2016. 
  19. ^ Gray, Richard (May 4, 2016). "Bob Backlund To Make Darren Young Great Again (Smackdown Spoiler)". Wrestling News World. Gray Internet Technologies. Retrieved July 13, 2016. The gimmick includes the obvious play on Donald Trump's campaign slogan of "Make America Great Again." 
  20. ^ Chichizola, Corey (February 26, 2016). "The Purge: Election Year Wants You To Purge For America". Retrieved October 28, 2016. 
  21. ^ Walker, Alex (September 14, 2016). "Skaters Are Pushing EA Really Hard To Make Skate 4". Retrieved September 15, 2016. 
  22. ^ Santos, Jerome Delos (September 15, 2016). "Skate 4: 'Make EA Skate Again' Ushers New Campaign". www.thebitbag.com. Retrieved September 15, 2016. 
  23. ^ Krashinsky, Susan (October 26, 2016). "General Mills hopes to hit sweet spot with new 'Smugglaroos' campaign". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 6, 2016. 

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Make_America_Great_Again&oldid=760608661"