‘Never-before-seen’: Trump uses phrase 194 times this year — what his favourite catchphrase says about his presidency

President Donald Trump frequently describes events and developments as “never-before-seen,” a phrase he has increasingly relied on to portray his actions as unprecedented. From claims of an unmatched missile defence system to dramatic drops in crime and record-breaking economic growth, Trump frames almost everything in extreme terms.

The phrase is more than a rhetorical flourish; it reflects how Trump views the world and approaches governance. Successes are legendary in his own eyes, while problems are urgent crises that justify sweeping action. “The way he talks translates into the way he governs,” said Brian Ott, a communications professor at Missouri State University. “For extreme responses, everything demands an extreme context.”

White House spokesperson Liz Huston defended the repetition, saying, “President Trump is the greatest communicator in the history of American politics.”

Data from Roll Call’s Factba.se shows Trump has used variations of the phrase 194 times so far this year, far exceeding his usage during previous years in office, though still below the level seen in his campaign rallies. The database notes that the phrase rarely appears in social media posts or prepared speeches, suggesting it functions as a verbal tic.

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The total falls short of Trump’s use of the phrase during his last two campaigns, when grandiose statements were typical of his political rallies, but it far outpaces any previous year that he was in office.

Only 90 examples were recorded in 2019, 77 in 2018 and 48 in 2017.

Factba.se used artificial intelligence and other methods to identify versions of the phrase in recordings of Trump’s public comments. Bill Frischling, who oversees the database, said Trump’s phrasing appears to be something of a verbal tic, since it rarely shows up in social media posts over the years.

Nor is the phrase included in the text of prepared speeches since Trump took office in January. (The White House has released nearly two dozen this term.)

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Trump’s loose relationship with facts is well documented, all the way back to his bestselling book “The Art of the Deal” in 1987.

“People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular,” the book said. ”I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration — and it’s a very effective form of promotion.”

Tony Schwartz, Trump’s ghost writer, has said that he coined the phrase “truthful hyperbole,” but the future president loved it.

The routine was on full display last year when Trump spoke at the Republican National Convention.

He promised to “lead America to new heights of greatness like the world has never seen before,” and he said the national debt will come down “with numbers that nobody has ever seen.”

Then he unleashed his anger at Democrats.

Rising inflation? “They’ve never seen anything like it.” Illegal immigration? “Nobody’s ever seen anything like it.”

(Inflation has been higher before, particularly in the 1970s and early 1980s, but border crossings were setting records under President Joe Biden.)

Now the phrase is a fixture of Trump’s events, including his recent meeting with the new Polish president. Sometimes his claims are accurate, other times not.

Regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said “they’re losing soldiers at levels that nobody has seen since the Second World War.” (Indeed, it’s Europe’s deadliest conflict in that time period.)

He said “they have crime that’s at levels that nobody’s ever seen before in Baltimore,” a pretext for a potential deployment of the National Guard over local objections. (The city has historically struggled with crime but violence has been declining in recent years.)

And Trump said his tax legislation would help the middle class and it’s the “first time they’ve ever seen anything like this.” (Wealthy people will get the largest benefits, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.)

Trump’s top advisers ape his language, as several did during last week’s three-hour-long Cabinet meeting.

Steve Witkoff, a diplomatic envoy, told the president that people around the globe “have never really seen the world change in this way” because of his peace negotiations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Trump’s work on controlling migration, saying they’re “getting cooperation from countries that we’ve never seen before.”

Sometimes Trump even likes to put the phrase in other people’s mouths.

In an Aug. 15 interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been impressed with his leadership.

“Vladimir said just a little while ago, he said, ‘I’ve never seen anybody do so much so fast,’” Trump said.

With inputs from agencies