Social media was abuzz on Sunday evening after President Trump mixed up the words "consensual" and "consequential" when quoting an article praising his presidency. Twitter users took Trump to task for the error, with many claiming that it was unsurprising that the president did not know the meaning of "consensual" — making veiled reference to the 19 allegations of sexual misconduct that women have made against Trump (Trump has firmly denied each of these allegations). Ironically, the tweet was published during the Golden Globes — as the awards show was tackling the topic of sexual misconduct.
According to The Hill, in his tweet, Trump was referencing an article by Michael Goodwin, entitled, "We're Still Better Off with Trump than Clinton." While highlighting some of the problems with Trump's leadership, Goodwin noted that, overall, he believed that Trump's presidency was effective, saying it is "turning out to be an enormously consequential presidency."
However, in attempting to share this praise for his presidency with his Twitter followers, Trump misquoted Goodwin, instead saying:
"His is turning out to be an enormously consequential presidency. So much so that, despite my own frustration over his missteps, there has never been a day when I wished Hillary Clinton were president. Not one. Indeed, as Trump's accomplishments accumulate, the mere thought of ... Clinton in the WH, doubling down on Barack Obama's failed policies, washes away any doubts that America made the right choice. This was truly a change election — and the changes Trump is bringing are far-reaching & necessary." Thank you Michael Goodwin!
Trump eventually did realize his error a few hours later, deleting the original "consensual" tweet and replacing it with the accurate one that included the word "consequential." He also included Goodwin's reference to his "missteps" in his new tweet, something he had excluded from the previous tweet.
Twitter condemned Trump for his error, with many users finding his misuse of the word ironic. Jamil Smith, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, tweeted that this "may very well be the first time that Trump has used the word 'consensual,' and he did it in error and by accident."
Another Twitter user also offered a scathing critique:
[W]hile we're speaking of consensual, your reminder that Trump doesn't believe in consent and he wasn't chosen by a majority of the voters[.]
This is not the first time in recent days that Trump's tweets have drawn a great deal of attention. Indeed, on Saturday morning Trump published a series of tweets touting his abilities as president:
Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star ... to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius....and a very stable genius at that!
Many on social media mocked Trump for calling himself a "very stable genius," with many users sharing memes of the phrase. In criticizing his use of the word consensual instead of consequential, some Twitter users also used Trump's own words to critique him. Indeed, one user noted that she "would think that a stable genius who is like really smart would know the difference between consensual and consequential."
Another user also appeared miffed at Trump's apparently consistent ability to compose such controversial tweets:
Trump bookends the weekend with "stable genius" and "consensual presidency." Thanks for those gems. No one can turn a phrase quite like him.
Overall, it is clear that Twitter has been closely monitoring the president's words and is holding him to account for what he says. Beyond deleting the initial consensual tweet and replacing it with the revised quote, Trump has not commented on reactions to his tweets.
