‘Free Beacon’ Montage: Call Him Mr. Trump

Call Him Mr. Trump (The Washington Free Beacon)

The Republican nominee for president goes by many names. The name on his birth certificate is Donald John Trump; his first wife’s broken English earned him a nickname, The Donald; as a merchandising matter he is known grandiosely as TRUMP.

To his most die-hard defenders, however, he is known as Mr. Trump.

It would be easy to dismiss their use of this title as courtesy or convention. Trump has held no political office, so he cannot be referred to by another honorific, as can figures like Governor Pence and Secretary Clinton and Senator Kaine. Television hosts and reporters often use the “Mr. Trump” formulation. President Obama and Hillary Clinton do, too, always uttering the phrase with more than a hint of derision.