Donald Trump claims his “favourite word” got him into so much trouble that he was forced to change it. But what he might have considered to be a small comment has struck a chord with Americans who struggle to see how anyone can take him seriously.

Back in 2024, Trump famously declared his love for the term, stating, “To me, the world’s most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariffs. It’s my favorite word. It needs a public relations firm…”

He reiterated a very similar statement on Inauguration Day in January 2025, as well as in April of the same year, when he faced pushback over his policies. However, the President seems to have had a change of heart in recent weeks.

However, it seems the 80-year-old has had to reconsider his language choices. Speaking at the White House, Trump said: “Another one of my favorite words is the word tariff. I used to say it’s my favorite word. They said, what about God? What about religion? What about family and your wife, your children? So now I make it my fifth favorite word.”

Mocking the president, one X user commented: “They reminded me I have a family so now I say 5th.” Another user added: “Still wild people take this seriously.”

A third user said: “He just listed 5 other words, so it would have to be his 6th favorite word. To be fair, based on his history, ‘wife’ is probably not anywhere near the top 5.”

One more user added: “He’s so freaking weird. Cringe.” However, others thought Trump was just joking around and branded him a “comedian”.

The impact of Trump’s tariffs

Some Americans say Trump’s tariffs have had a negative impact on their small businesses, citing uncertainty, rising costs and cancellations.

A poll from Small Business Majority revealed that 53% of small business owners were concerned about the tariff strategy’s impact on their business.

Tariffs are taxes on imported goods, paid by the US business or individual receiving them at the port of entry.

While tariffs are levied on imported goods rather than services, broad-based tariffs can bring painful retaliation against American exports, with American workers and farmers likely to feel the impact.

A statement from Forbes reads: “As a small business who is a manufacturer, if you rely on the global supply chain to manufacture your product, you might find a significant increase in the costs of your raw materials, which might cause you to pass that cost onto your customer or have to seek relief through another supplier in another lower tariffed country.”