--- title: Donald Trump: Local Milk People Comment Inspires Viral Meme description: Trump's comment about local milk people leaked from a conversation about refugees has become a viral meme. canonical: https://time.com/4886389/trump-local-milk-people-meme/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-03T18:38:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:27:08.872Z og:title: President Trump Just Made 'Local Milk People' the Latest Meme og:description: The President's reference to dairy workers is the internet's treasure og:url: https://time.com/4886389/trump-local-milk-people-meme/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f447535b091a3c5/6988bf6286f68e0b696e3ef0/florida-skim-milk.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5130 og:image:height: 2886 og:image:alt: Woman checking ingredients on back of milk carton in supermarket og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Just Made 'Local Milk People' the Latest Meme twitter:description: The President's reference to dairy workers is the internet's treasure twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f447535b091a3c5/6988bf6286f68e0b696e3ef0/florida-skim-milk.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Referred to 'Local Milk People.' The Internet Took It From There > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b659fc23-4404-4ed2-8598-ae554242650c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The 5 Most Revealing Quotes From Trump’s Leaked Calls With World Leaders [Watch (HLS stream): The 5 Most Revealing Quotes From Trump’s Leaked Calls With World Leaders](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Iqt3l87p.m3u8) (1:34)  _Published 2017-08-03. Newly published transcripts of January phone calls between President Trump and the leaders of Mexico and Australia offer an inside look into how the recently inaugurated Trump communicated with his international counterparts_ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Aug 3, 2017 6:38 PM UTC Newly published transcripts of January phone calls between President Trump and the leaders of Mexico and Australia offer an inside look into how the recently inaugurated Trump communicated with his international counterparts by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Aug 3, 2017 6:38 PM UTC Newly published transcripts of January [phone calls between President Trump and the leaders of Mexico and Australia](http://time.com/4885703/donald-trump-phone-call-transcripts-mexico-australia/) didn’t just give people an opportunity to see how Trump discussed matters with [international leaders](http://time.com/4885415/italy-naval-mission-migrant-smuggling/) at the time. One conversational snippet has given the internet a primo meme opportunity. Published Thursday by the Washington [_Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/politics/australia-mexico-transcripts/), the transcripts showed that Trump had a combative conversation Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull about a plan to accept hundreds of refugees from offshore detention centers near to Australia. “I guarantee you they are bad. That is why they are in prison right now. They are not going to be wonderful people who go on to work for the local milk people,” Trump said, seemingly a reference to the massive U.S. dairy industry. That milk snippet was all the internet needed to turn it into a meme full of all the dairy product-themed jokes. > [](https://twitter.com/morninggloria/status/893103787686100998) > [](https://twitter.com/Barneymanirl/status/893112474295296001) > [](https://twitter.com/JillianSed/status/893112317482860545) > [](https://twitter.com/gregorybrothers/status/893160901171458048) > [](https://twitter.com/gilbertjasono/status/893122254070050816) The topic of cookies, another business Trump gave airtime to during the presidential debates of 2016 popped up too. > [](https://twitter.com/HaroldItz/status/893144982357512192) A band name was born. > [](https://twitter.com/petridishes/status/893118001024774145) > [](https://twitter.com/brbarrett/status/893102905280139265) > [](https://twitter.com/Papapishu/status/893117048515170308) > [](https://twitter.com/AliWatkins/status/893123853660106752) > [](https://twitter.com/ObsoleteDogma/status/893108680396337155) Those iconic collectible milk print ads made an appearance. > [](https://twitter.com/courtenlow/status/893170131949506565) ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [00:04] 4. Turnbull corrected Trump [00:08] on the backgrounds of the [00:16] Boston marathon bombers. 5. Trump cut short his call [00:18] with Turnbull, saying his call with Vladimir [00:52] Putin was [01:03] pleasant. [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4886389/trump-local-milk-people-meme/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4886389/trump-local-milk-people-meme/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Referred to 'Local Milk People.' 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