Therapists reveal what 'Daddy Trump' meme really says about 'obedient' MAGA followers
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference at a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
During the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands in late June, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte humorously referred to U.S. President Donald Trump as "daddy." Later, the Trump White House posted a video online that depicted Trump as "daddy" and used R&B star Usher's 2009 hit "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)."
The video was mercilessly mocked and ridiculed on social media, with many Trump critics attacking it as a total embarrassment. But some MAGA Republicans praised it as brilliant.
HuffPost's Brittany Wong examines MAGA's "daddy" meme in an article published on July 1, getting the insights of some political and psychiatric voices.
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Todd Belt, a professor at George Washington University in Washington, DC, told HuffPost, "The father is strong and in charge of the family, and doles out discipline as needed. This is how conservatives view the proper role of government. So, this terminology of Trump as 'daddy' reinforces his relationship to his base."
Belt argued, "Usually, politicians try to downplay anything sexual in nature because they think it undermines their credibility and perceived fitness for office. I think this is more about appearing tough and in control rather than sexual."
San Diego-based therapist Panicha McGuire told HuffPost, "In the U.S. in general, we expect our leaders to rescue us, discipline others, and model strength ― all traits we associate with a very traditional, and limiting, father archetype."
The "daddy" meme, according to McGuire, underscores the United States' "deep intergenerational trauma tied to colonialism, capitalism and rigid gender role(s)."
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McGuire argued, "We don't teach collective care or mutual responsibility, so we keep cycling through 'father figures' who offer authority instead of accountability…. It's not just branding; I look at it as more of a symbolic invitation back into a hierarchical, authoritarian family structure where power flows one way, and obedience is rewarded."
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Read Brittany Wong's full article for HuffPost at this link.
