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MineralMan

(150,344 posts)
Sat Nov 15, 2025, 10:39 AM Saturday

Trump's Weird Capitalization Habits Explained

Donald Trump doesn't follow rules. He hates rules, unless he is making them. In his Truth Social and other Internet posts, you have probably noticed that he capitalizes words in a distinctly non-English way. Why?

He's, you know, German, see. In German, all nouns are capitalized. It's a hard and fast rule. Trump likes the idea, so he sort of copies the German pattern. Like everything else he does, of course, he doesn't know why he does that, exactly. So, he also capitalizes some other words, almost at random. It's a little confusing. Just like Trump's brain. Confusing.

So, Trump's trying to be more like the Germans. He has a lot of respect for historical Germans. Especially German leaders from the 1930s and 40s. Strong men, he thinks they were. He wants to be a strong man. So he copies what those old dead Germans did. Capitalizing nouns is strong, you see. Very strong. Just like Trump thinks he is.

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Trump's Weird Capitalization Habits Explained (Original Post) MineralMan Saturday OP
In German you only capitalize Old Crank Saturday #1
While Trump sometimes uses ALL CAPS, MineralMan Saturday #2
He doesn't follow the rules for German. Old Crank Saturday #11
Of course he hasn't a clue. MineralMan Saturday #12
I am of Eastern European descent, and I default to a Slavic voice inflection. John1956PA Saturday #3
He uses capitalization for emphasis, mostly. MineralMan Saturday #5
Capitalization requires no skill and it is faster. SalviaBlue Saturday #4
Excellent points! MineralMan Saturday #6
To me BeerBarrelPolka Saturday #7
His rants do have a Teutonic flavor, but I think his capitalization quirks Ocelot II Saturday #8
Wonderful! MineralMan Saturday #9
Trump's posts should always be in Fraktur font to keep that Nazi vibe front and center. Ocelot II Saturday #13
He's semi-literate, plain and simple. Why else would he brag about just allegorical oracle Saturday #10

MineralMan

(150,344 posts)
2. While Trump sometimes uses ALL CAPS,
Sat Nov 15, 2025, 10:53 AM
Saturday

he uses initial caps more often. Here's an example, in his Truth Social post about MTG:

"I am withdrawing my support and Endorsement of "Congresswoman" Marjorie Taylor Greene, of the Great State of Georgia. Over the past few weeks, despite my creating Record Achievements for our Country including, a Total and Complete Victory on the Shutdown, Closed Borders, Low Taxes, No Men in Women's Sports or Transgender for Everyone, ending DEl, stopping Biden's Record Setting Inflation, Biggest Regulation Cuts in History, stopping EIGHT WARS, rebuilding our Military, being RESPECTED by every Country in the World (as opposed to being the laughingstock that we were just 12 months ago!), having Trillions of Dollars (Record Setting!) INVESTED in the U.S.A., and having created the "HOTTEST" Country anywhere in the World from being a DEAD Country just 12 months ago (and so much more!), all I see "Wacky" Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN! It seemed to all begin when I sent her a Poll stating that she should not run for Senator, or Governor, she was at 12%, and didn't have a chance (unless, of course, she had my Endorsement — which she wasn't about to get!). She has told many people that she is upset that I don't return her phone calls anymore, but with 219 Congressmen/women, 53 U.S. Senators, 24 Cabinet Members, almost 200 Countries, and an otherwise normal life to lead, I can't take a ranting Lunatic's call every day. I understand that wonderful, Conservative people are thinking about primarying Marjorie in her District of Georgia, that they too are fed up with her and her antics and, if the right person runs, they will have my Complete and Unyielding Support. She has gone Far Left, even doing The View, with their Low IQ Republican hating Anchors. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT
AGAIN!"


He does a little ALL CAPs for emphasis, in that, but he mostly capitalizes nouns and some adjectives he wants to emphasize. He does all of it sporadically, and with very little consistency. He doesn't really know the rules, so he makes them up as he goes.

Old Crank

(6,432 posts)
11. He doesn't follow the rules for German.
Sat Nov 15, 2025, 02:28 PM
Saturday

Assuming he knows or cares.
You don't capitalize adjectives. Just nouns.
English. German cars.
German. german Cars. deutschen Autos.

I don't think he even has a clue.

MineralMan

(150,344 posts)
12. Of course he hasn't a clue.
Sat Nov 15, 2025, 02:30 PM
Saturday

He doesn't understand English capitalization, either. He just does as he pleases, "fuck the world...."

John1956PA

(4,626 posts)
3. I am of Eastern European descent, and I default to a Slavic voice inflection.
Sat Nov 15, 2025, 10:55 AM
Saturday

If I think about it, I can hear the inflection in my mind before I speak it. When I vocalize my thoughts, I convert my speech pattern to a Western European sound.

For the most part, my default inflection does not foster emphasis on words in a sentence. I avoid typing in caps partly because it is not a natural voice inflection for me.

I am not sure why Trump has a penchant for typing in upper case. Maybe it is just a matter of his bullying nature rising to the surface.

MineralMan

(150,344 posts)
5. He uses capitalization for emphasis, mostly.
Sat Nov 15, 2025, 10:59 AM
Saturday

He knows no languages other than English, and he is neither a good speaker or writer in that language, either. A poor communicator, he uses verbal emphasis in unorthodox ways, as well.

He shouts. He yells. He speaks emphatically, even if he has little to say. He's a small man trying to look as large as possible.

SalviaBlue

(3,105 posts)
4. Capitalization requires no skill and it is faster.
Sat Nov 15, 2025, 10:59 AM
Saturday

When you capitalize everything, you don’t have to know the rules; you can cover for your ignorance of the written English language.

He is ignorant and impatient.

I think it is as simple as that.

BeerBarrelPolka

(2,156 posts)
7. To me
Sat Nov 15, 2025, 11:00 AM
Saturday

The logical explanation is that he simply doesn't excel at English grammar. He's a very stupid man.

Ocelot II

(128,352 posts)
8. His rants do have a Teutonic flavor, but I think his capitalization quirks
Sat Nov 15, 2025, 11:28 AM
Saturday

have more to do with the fact that he's writing the way he thinks (which is shouty and incoherent). He wants us to know that some things are VERY IMPORTANT, and since capitalizing words is the only way you can yell on the Internet, he does it by using all-caps. As well as SHOUTING, he capitalizes the first letter of some words, adjectives as well as nouns, that he wants to emphasize. But although this gives his rants a bit of a Führer vibe it's not so much Germanic as illiterate. You read his social media posts and figure they came from an angry teenager with oppositional-defiant disorder posting from his parents' basement, furious because they're turning off the wi-fi at 10:00 pm so he can't look at porn all night.

Occasionally Trump writes something that might work in Fraktur, though. Maybe he should persuade his Fake Twitter techies to give him that option.

Ocelot II

(128,352 posts)
13. Trump's posts should always be in Fraktur font to keep that Nazi vibe front and center.
Sat Nov 15, 2025, 06:50 PM
Saturday

allegorical oracle

(6,009 posts)
10. He's semi-literate, plain and simple. Why else would he brag about just
Sat Nov 15, 2025, 12:29 PM
Saturday

discovering common words like "groceries"? He builds a scaffolding of verbiage, probably with help, and constantly repeats it until it becomes a "patter" that he can blurt out for any occasion.

His childish use of "Thank you for your attention to this matter," is worthy of a bill collector and not much else.

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