# Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Jason Chaffetz etc SHOWING DISRESPECT: Avoiding Saying "Trump" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 15, 2017, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863 "2017-02-15T00:05:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/1 "2017-02-15T00:05:11Z")
Sure, they all say “the President”-----but they won’t say “President Trump.” Why not? Doesn’t he deserve to have his name spoken? This appears to be true for all the most prominent Republicans who are, supposedly, working with Trump—it’s possible to find one or two instances of their saying “President Trump” but for each one, there are fifty or a hundred or more instances where they are twisting themselves into pretzels with the effort it takes to avoid saying “President Trump” and to substitute “the President.” We all know that it was CRUCIAL to speak the words–_SPEAK THE WORDS!_– “Radical Islamic Terrorism”…so why isn’t it just as important to speak the words “President Trump”? Why are Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and Jason Chaffetz being so _disrespectful_? For those who like some evidence: just search “President Trump” and the name of the GOPer in question. You’ll get a bunch of quotations in which headline writers have written “President Trump”----- but each prominent Republican is very, very, _very_ careful to say only “the President” and refrain from saying “President Trump,” as in these examples: **PAUL RYAN** : > [@](#): > > Paul Ryan: President Trump ‘Made Right Decision’ To Ask For Michael Flynn’s Resignation | NBC News > (In this video, he not only avoids saying Trump’s name, he also avoids saying Flynn’s! … He _does_ say “Hillary Clinton”.) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/k-BHvT5Z92I/hqdefault.jpg "Paul Ryan: President Trump ‘Made Right Decision’ To Ask For Michael Flynn’s Resignation | NBC News") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-BHvT5Z92I) > [@](#): > > Many quotations from Ryan in this article; he never says “Trump”. > Example: > “Look, he is not the first President to get frustrated with a ruling from a court,” Ryan said. “I think what is most important are the actions. This Administration is honoring the ruling, and this Administration is going through the proper procedures to deal with the ruling—to try and get the ruling overturned. They are going through the appeals process…. Look, I know he’s an unconventional President… ” [Paul Ryan’s Craven Pact with Donald Trump | The New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/what-explains-paul-ryans-craven-words-about-trump) **MITCH McCONNELL** : > [@](#): > > “I don’t have any advice to give to the president,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said at a press conference Thursday when asked if Trump should tone down his rhetoric about demanding that Mexico pay for the wall. “The president can deal with his relations on that issue and on other issues.” [Donald Trump now commands nearly complete loyalty from congressional Republicans - Vox](http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/26/14365998/donald-trump-gop) In this ABC News interview of several minutes, MM answered sixteen questions and never once said “Trump,” though he did name other Presidents. Excerpt from the transcript: > [@](#): > > MCCONNELL: Well, look, let me tell you what ought to happen. President Clinton, in his first term, had two Supreme Court nominees, Ginsburg and Breyer. There was no filibuster. And for your listeners, there was no requirement that you get 60 votes to consider them. > President Obama had two Supreme Court nominees in his first term. There was no filibuster against them. > We’re in the first term of a new president. What we’re hoping is that our Democratic friends in the minority in the Senate, as we were during those same comparable periods under Clinton and Obama, will treat this nominee in the same way and give him an up-or-down vote. > If cloture, that is, if getting 60 votes is required, that happened with Justice Alito; a Democratic minority insisted on that. Cloture was invoked. In other words, he was given the opportunity to have an up-or-down vote on the final nomination. > So it’s way too early for me to tell you or anybody else what we might do. I think how this is handled depends on our Democratic friends. Let me tell you what I do think we’ll get. I think we’re going to get a really outstanding nominee, who will be very hard to argue against because the president [[[[\*WHICH \*President?!?!??!?]]]] has been working on this for some time. ['This Week' Transcript 1-29-17: Sean Spicer, Sen. Mitch McConnell, and Robert Gates - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-29-17-sean-spicer-sen-mitch/story?id=45112815) **JASON CHAFFETZ** : Sites I looked at which contained recent quotations of JC (January and February 2017) in which he never said the word “Trump”: • [Jason Chaffetz: President Trump Told Me I Could Investigate Anything I Want | Video | RealClearPolitics](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/02/06/jason_chaffetz_says_president_trump_gave_him_a_message_dont_slow_down.html) • [Rep. Jason Chaffetz probes Trump's handling of sensitive info at Mar-a-Lago](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/02/14/jason-chaffetz-probes-white-house-handling-sensitive-info-trump-mar-a-lago/97906924/) • [http://thehill.com/homenews/house/318384-no-talk-of-oversight-between-trump-chaffetz](http://thehill.com/homenews/house/318384-no-talk-of-oversight-between-trump-chaffetz) • [http://klewtv.com/news/connect-to-congress/jason-chaffetz-plans-to-hold-trump-accountable-as-president](http://klewtv.com/news/connect-to-congress/jason-chaffetz-plans-to-hold-trump-accountable-as-president) • [‘Do Your Job!’: GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz Faces Rowdy Audience at Town Hall](http://www.mediaite.com/online/do-your-job-jason-chaffetz-faces-rowdy-audience-at-town-hall/) • [Jason Chaffetz, House Oversight chief, isn’t sweating Donald Trump.](http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/01/25/jason_chaffetz_house_oversight_chief_isn_t_sweating_donald_trump.html) …This is all stuff from the last few weeks. No doubt before anyone believed Trump would win, these guys might well have said his name----but now, they are working VERY hard to avoid saying his name. It’s disrespectful. \*\*They need to be called out on it. \*\* PIT THE “TRUMP”-AVOIDERS! ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/2 "2017-02-15T00:09:36Z")
Many of them did the same thing with Obama. Others called him Mr. Obama instead of Mr. President. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/3 "2017-02-15T00:11:58Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Sure, they all say “the President”-----but they won’t say “President Trump.” Why not? Doesn’t he deserve to have his name spoken? He Who Must Not Be Named??? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/4 "2017-02-15T00:12:26Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Many of them did the same thing with Obama. Others called him Mr. Obama instead of Mr. President. You’re talking about Ryan, McConnell, et al? Yes, I can well imagine that they didn’t want to say the word “President” when referring to a Democrat. But that’s not the same thing, because the situation here is that they ostensibly are on the same side as Trump. They are willing to use him to advance their own agendas _without showing him the basic respect of using his name_. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/5 "2017-02-15T00:14:57Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > He Who Must Not Be Named??? Maybe. Why aren’t their constituents letting them\* know that they shouldn’t be treating Trump as if he were a loathsome, dangerous menace? Why aren’t those constituents demanding that they show him the common decency of _ **using his name** _? \*Ryan, McConnell, Chaffetz, and other prominent Republicans, I mean ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/6 "2017-02-15T00:16:02Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Maybe. Why aren’t their constituents letting them know that they shouldn’t be treating Trump as if he were a loathsome, dangerous menace? Why aren’t those constituents demanding that they show him the common decency of _ **using his name** _? I doubt there are too many people left who want Trump treated with common decency. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/7 "2017-02-15T00:17:37Z")
[They’re not the only ones.](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/the-power-of-not-saying-his-name/516483/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAtlantic+%28The+Atlantic+-+Master+Feed%29) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/8 "2017-02-15T00:19:02Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I doubt there are too many people left who want Trump treated with common decency. Perhaps. But those who are planning and hoping to capitalize on Trump’s popularity (to get their legislative shit passed) should surely be among those who are willing to show him the civility of using his name. And if not, they should be called on their weaseling. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/9 "2017-02-15T00:22:07Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > [They’re not the only ones.](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/the-power-of-not-saying-his-name/516483/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAtlantic+%28The+Atlantic+-+Master+Feed%29) I hadn’t seen that article (and look forward to reading it–thanks). But, again: anti-Trump people aren’t committing the hypocrisy of making use of Trump’s popularity for their own ends, while failing to show him the common courtesy of using his name. It’s Ryan, McConnell, Chaffetz, and others doing the same thing, who deserve to have a spotlight shone on their mealy-mouthed failure to _say the name_. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/10 "2017-02-15T00:22:58Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > [They’re not the only ones.](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/the-power-of-not-saying-his-name/516483/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAtlantic+%28The+Atlantic+-+Master+Feed%29) I’ve been seeing a lot of people calling him “45.” ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/11 "2017-02-15T00:42:02Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Perhaps. But those who are planning and hoping to capitalize on Trump’s popularity (to get their legislative shit passed) should surely be among those who are willing to show him the civility of using his name. > > And if not, they should be called on their weaseling. Maybe it’s like Beetlejuice. They’re afraid he might pop up. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/12 "2017-02-15T00:46:12Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I hadn’t seen that article (and look forward to reading it–thanks). But, again: anti-Trump people aren’t committing the hypocrisy of making use of Trump’s popularity for their own ends, while failing to show him the common courtesy of using his name. > > It’s Ryan, McConnell, Chaffetz, and others doing the same thing, who deserve to have a spotlight shone on their mealy-mouthed failure to _say the name_. They are definitely mealy-mouthed, gutless, hypocrites. They always wanted to use him for their own purposes, but I think even they didn’t foresee how soon and how far he was going to go off the deep end. Now they have a real dilemma on their hands. And it couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch of assholes. They buttered their bread, and now they have to lie in it. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/13 "2017-02-15T00:50:16Z")
Thank God Ryan didn’t get in. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/14 "2017-02-15T01:17:23Z")
President Tr…_ulp_. **PRESIDENT TRU** …_gulp_…_gag._ Shit, I can’t do it either. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/15 "2017-02-15T01:33:06Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > It’s disrespectful. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/16 "2017-02-15T01:48:44Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Cite? Um… common sense? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/17 "2017-02-15T02:02:45Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I’ve been seeing a lot of people calling him “45.” I’ve even seen “Dolt 45” ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/18 "2017-02-15T02:07:42Z")
I was going to mention the “Dolt 45” thing, but I’m in the habit of referring to him as “trump”. On the theory that for so long we’ve seen his name with all FIVE letters capitalized, that there is a surplus of lower case letter attached to it. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/19 "2017-02-15T02:13:03Z")
Did we ever find out _why_ what’s-his-name kept capitalizing the whole thing? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863/20 "2017-02-15T02:13:50Z")
I would have assumed it was the opposite. Referring to Trump as just “the President” confers higher status to him by emphasizing his unique status. Calling him President Trump makes it sound like you have to specify which president you’re talking about. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-mitch-mcconnell-jason-chaffetz-etc-showing-disrespect-avoiding-saying-trump/779863.md?page=2)