Oh bother: Donald J. Trump is speaking in the third person and misusing apostrophes again

You would expect the President to have a solid grasp of grammar, whether delivering impassioned and inspiring speeches or providing important commentary or context on social media. Of course, you would also expect the President to spend more time doing this supposedly significant job than sharing their thoughts via TruthSocial.

Yes, Donald Trump posted on the platform on Mar. 3, 2025, just a few days after he and JD Vance yelled at President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and while there are numerous things wrong with his statement, he had two glaring problems. After calling himself “President Donald J. Trump,” he talked about “the weak and ineffective Democrat’s [sic].” (Let’s not even talk about him continuing to try to make “Fake News” happen because like Gretchen’s love of “fetch” in Mean Girls, it’s getting old.)

Just like it’s apparently completely normal to scream at a world leader while attempting to make a deal with them, it’s also apparently completely normal to talk about a devastating war in a casual and off-the-cuff way on social media.

Unfortunately, Trump is a fan of talking about himself in the third person, so this isn’t a one-off. Whenever someone talks in the third person, I can’t help but think of the Seinfeld character Jimmy (Anthony Starke), who has this frustrating quirk. Jimmy influences Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and George Constanza (Jason Alexander) to do the same thing. Of course, in this case, it’s a hilarious sitcom plotline, not yet another example of why Trump is unfit to be the leader the second time around (and the first time).

Back in 2016, a simpler time, perhaps, before expensive eggs and the COVID-19 pandemic and Elon Musk’s DOGE, but still a rough time because Trump was President, Trump tweeted, “The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index for December surged nearly four points to 113.7, THE HIGHEST LEVEL IN MORE THAN 15 YEARS! Thanks Donald.” Sadly, that wasn’t the first or last instance of this ridiculous desire to constantly toot his own horn. As the BBC pointed out, Trump talked about himself in the third person in 2009, and in 2015 said the absolutely bonkers statement, “You wouldn’t even be hearing about immigration if it weren’t [sic] for Donald Trump.”

This has led to discussions of why someone would need to talk about themselves this way, and everyone agrees it’s about ego. Perhaps Trump’s misunderstanding of the proper use of apostrophes is even more terrifying. Although Trump has a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School, it would be easy to look at his social media feeds and think he hasn’t attended school a day in his life. PEOPLE just reminded me of his 2017 tweet when he introduced the world to the word “covfefe.” I totally blacked that out.

Trump’s latest TruthSocial post is a tragic reminder that, like the first time he took office, he still hasn’t figured out the basics of grammar. And, as many have pointed out, his communication is getting worse. It would be more shocking if he could write a full sentence without making a glaring error or going on a nonsensical rant. Every time he speaks or writes, it’s a look inside his mind, and it’s distressing. If someone can’t even learn the art of the apostrophe (it’s not that hard, I promise), can they really run the country? Now that’s a depressing thought.