Psychologist explains why Donald Trump keeps repeating same striking catchphrase
A psychologist has provided an interesting explanation as to why Donald Trump uses the same sign-off on his social media posts.
Take a gander through Donald Trump's Truth Social account, if you can make it past the constant stream of pop-up ads, and you'll likely notice the POTUS has a particular format when it comes to typing out posts.
There is excessive hyperbole and a liberal use of caps lock whenever the 79-year-old posts, but also the repetition of a rather curious phrase: 'Thank you for your attention to this matter.
The phrase appears to be a current fixation of Trump's as well, with The Washington Post revealing that by December 2025, Trump had thanked us for our attention to a particular matter at least 190 times – which means we've definitely passed 200 'thank you for your attention to this matter' sign-offs by now.
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Trump has used the phrase in a post praising Sydney Sweeney's controversial American Eagle campaign as 'the "HOTTEST" ad out there' while dissing 'woke singer' Taylor Swift. On another occasion this month, he used it after threatening to hit Iran 'very hard' and calling the country 'THE LOSER OF THE MIDDLE EAST'.
Last November, he used it to announce he had closed Venezuela's airspace, and to tell Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan he 'must resign, immediately' last August. In the final instance, he did mix up his usual signoff by saying 'Thank you for your attention to this problem!'.
So what's this all about then?
According to one psychologist, there is likely more to the choice of words than President Trump wanting to convey his gratitude on social media.
"From a clinical standpoint, the repeated use of the phrase 'thank you for your attention to this matter' may read as more than formality. It carries undertones of control and authority," explained psychotherapist Shenikka Moore-Clarke in a recent interview with Huffington Post.
Moore-Clarke went on to explain that 'language often becomes a way to manage image and power' and that by using such an authoritative phrase, President Trump is suggesting that his word is final.
"It’s [subtle] but can be read as being controlling," she explained.
Moore-Clarke also suggested that using the phrase also helped distinguish the statements from the rest of his social media posts.
"It comes off as ‘this is something important that you need to pay attention to,’" she added.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung appeared to confirm as such when approached by The Post over the matter, telling the outlet that Trump is the author of all his posts and includes the phrase as it is 'final and forceful'.
"He communicates directly and decisively, and there is no ambiguation," he added.
Even the MAGA merch store has cashed in on the phrase, selling his favoured bright red baseball caps emblazoned with 'Thank you for your attention to this matter' across the front.
Whatever the motivation behind Trump's newly adopted catchphrase, it has not gone unnoticed by both his supporters and detractors.
California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom previously used the phrase to mock Trump on social media, while the sign-off has been mocked a thousand times over on Reddit.
"It’s supposed to sound authoritative and official, but comes off as passive-aggressive," wrote one person in a thread on the topic, while a second said: "Trying to come up with a catch phrase."
"I think it's code. It indicates there's some action he expects to be taken immediately," a third speculated.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, I guess...
The most bizarre quotes and announcements from Trump's second term
He won't deport Prince Harry because 'he has enough problems with Meghan'
In early 2025, Trump was asked during an interview with the New York Post if he had plans to kick Prince Harry out of the US amid ongoing questions about his immigration status.
"I don’t want to do that. I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife," he said. "She’s terrible."
Saying Volodymyr Zelenskyy was 'all dressed up' in military attire
Ahead of a 2025 meeting in the Oval Office, the Ukrainian president wore a black, long-sleeved polo shirt featuring the Ukrainian trident - after which he'd vowed not to wear a suit until Russia's invasion of his country would come to an end.
Trump jokily said as he greeted Zelenskyy: "Oh look, you’re all dressed up."
Saying Denmark doesn't have a right to Greenland - despite it belonging to them
When the US was involved in that dispute over Greenland, as Trump wanted the land to be America’s, he claimed that Denmark didn't have the 'right' to the country.
Well, it's clear Trump didn't realize that Greenland is a self-governing, autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, and has been part of Denmark for 600 years.
A promise to bring back plastic straws
Again in 2025, Trump - who sold branded plastic straws during his 2020 election campaign - said paper straws 'don't work' and 'disgustingly' dissolve when being used.
"These things don’t work," he said. "I’ve had them many times, and on occasion, they break, they explode."
Saying the Biden administration spent $8 million making mice transgender
During his address to Congress in March 2025, Trump accused the Biden administration of spending $8 million on 'transgender mice' experiments.
PBS later fact-checked this and concluded that this claim was false, with PBS News Hour's White House correspondent Laura Barrón-López saying 'the idea that scientists are making mice transgender is false'.
"These experiments were studying the effects of gender-affirming hormones on asthma and on whether gender-affirming hormones increase breast cancer risk," Barrón-López explained.
Renaming the Gulf of Mexico
On his first day in office for his second term of presidency in January 2025, Trump infamously signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America to honor 'American greatness'.
It's important to note that the change applies only to US federal communications and maps.
Saying a day like The Purge would 'curb crime'
During his 2024 election campaign, Trump wildly called for 'one real rough, nasty' and 'violent day' of police retaliation in order to eradicate crime 'immediately' - which many drew comparisons to the thriller film The Purge.
"One rough hour — and I mean real rough — the word will get out and it will end immediately, you know? It will end immediately," Trump said to the crowd in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Calling Kamala Harris a 's**t' vice president
Another moment during his 2024 election campaign saw Trump take aim at his opponent, former vice president Kamala Harris.
He told his supporters: "We have to tell Kamala Harris that you’ve had enough, that you just can’t take it anymore. We can’t stand you, you’re a s**t vice president. The worst."
Topics: Donald Trump
Brenna Cooper