Within minutes of announcing that he would seek the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump was mocked by the Internet. The real estate mogul and reality TV star might not care, though, knowing that there is no such thing as bad publicity.
One of the first reactions referred to Trump's past questioning of President Obama's birth certificate.
I demand to see Donald Trump's hair's birth certificate.
— Scriblit (@Scriblit) June 16, 2015
Other reports about the announcement focused on Trump's trademark hair.
Donald Trump announces presidential run and promises to #MakeAmericaGreatAgainhttp://t.co/rJr0M7BFUUpic.twitter.com/guHhV7UhYO
— Boing Boing (@BoingBoing) June 16, 2015
Huffington Post's UK edition even called him "The Comb-Over In Chief".
Now Leading @HuffPostUK 'The Comb-Over In Chief' - http://t.co/bmIFKaL6ay#DonaldTrump#Trump2016#Trump#Trump4Prezpic.twitter.com/zYSnqMJSiK
— Paul Vale (@PaulVale) June 16, 2015
The US edition picked up on Trump's comment about being a "cheerleader for America" instead.
#Trump announces run for president, says he wants to be 'cheerleader for America' http://t.co/ttseHVCKZ3#Trump2016pic.twitter.com/AQkV0sYQj9
— HuffPostUK Politics (@HuffPostUKPol) June 16, 2015
Another popular target was Trump's comment about his immense wealth.
Donald Trump announced his run for president and Mr. Burns was like: pic.twitter.com/SAuKlP4OnU
— Bipartisan Report (@Bipartisanism) June 16, 2015
CNN Politics chose to focus on Trump's admission he was "really rich" and intended to use his own money to fund his presidential bid.
.@realDonaldTrump: "I don't need anybody's money ... I'm using my own money" http://t.co/28SwTNbcjppic.twitter.com/GvaCB9xUDG
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 16, 2015
As did this Washington Post reporter.
"I'm really rich." -- Donald Trump. THIS IS SO SO SO SO SO SO AMAZING.
— Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) June 16, 2015
Another Twitter user pointed out that Trump was, in fact, bragging about his wealth.
Trumps reads off list of buildings he owns. "I don't like to brag." #DonaldTrump
— Culture of Truth (@Bobblespeak) June 16, 2015
Some have called for him to invest that wealth into helping ordinary Americans, instead of throwing it away on a futile presidential bid.
The millions of dollars @realDonaldTrump is about to spend LOSING this campaign could actually help millions of Americans... #DonaldTrump
— Lauren K. Gray (@laurenkgray) June 16, 2015
Trump's announcement prompted this commenter to make comparisons to the cult 1976 movie "The Network"...
This Donald Trump speech seems to be going great. pic.twitter.com/5zIOgdFVwd
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) June 16, 2015
...and a more recent episode of "Game of Thrones".
Checking in on the Donald Trump announcement pic.twitter.com/J4YpsJNbNA
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) June 16, 2015
Rather than wrapping up the speech after announcing he was running, Trump kept talking.
Donald Trump is still talking.
— Guardian US (@GuardianUS) June 16, 2015
The impromptu speech kept going for a while, jumping from point to point, but with a basic undercurrent.
To summarize #DonaldTrump presidential announcement.. He's really rich. Politicians are stupid. Back to u in the studio.
— Joe Torres (@joetorresABC7) June 16, 2015
Mainstream politicians may be laughing at Trump, but it wasn't always so.
Fun fact - Bill and Hillary Clinton attended Donald Trump's wedding. #Trump2016pic.twitter.com/345tgyckOY
— Ted Newton (@Ted_Newton) June 16, 2015
Nonetheless, the social media consensus seems to be the real estate magnate and reality TV star isn't serious about his presidential ambitions.
Donald Trump is not running for President. He's running for attention.
— Blogs of War (@BlogsofWar) June 16, 2015