• Ideas
  • politics

Hillary Clinton Tells People to ‘Trump Yourself’ on Facebook

2 minute read
Ideas

With Donald Trump confirmed as the presidential nominee of the GOP, presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has debuted a new tool for her campaign: avatars. Her campaign has now devoted a section of HillaryClinton.com to helping Facebook and Twitter users superimpose unflattering Donald Trump quotes about broad categories of people onto their own profile pictures, then upload them directly to their pages. It’s called Trump Yourself.

Women could place the Trump quote from his book The Art of the Comeback about them “always griping and bitching” or the time he called women “fat pigs” or when he remarked that “If you need Viagra, you’re probably with the wrong girl.” Undocumented immigrants and their family members can brandish his belief that “they have to go.” Other communities with specific categories include: African Americans, gays, Mexicans, Muslims, people who enjoy Diet Coke, people who get under his skin, people who stand up to him, Muslims, undocumented immigrants and, to use the Clinton campaign’s parlance, “dogs????”.

There are also the broader categories, such as: people who get under Trump’s skin or disagree with him or stand up to him, as well as fans of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, who wish to put the word “DOPEY” in front of their photos alongside cut-outs of Trump’s head. (Upon further review: The latter is actually for those who “doubt [Trump’s] success.”)

Read more: TIME’s Donald Trump Insult Generator

Other movements have similarly laid claim to profile images of two of the world’s most popular websites by having users overlay or replace their profile images in order to unify and spread awareness about the cause.

But the intent of this movement seems slightly different. It’s much more personal. It takes Trump’s spoken or typed avatars designed to represent those he thinks deserve derision and fear and juxtapose the accusations with people who Trump supporters’ friends and followers actually care about, even respect and love. In effect: It’s far easier to be scared of or hateful toward the bogeyman you don’t know.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com

TIME Ideas hosts the world's leading voices, providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture. We welcome outside contributions. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors.