It is a sentence that has already gone down in history: “I invented the word ‘equalize.’” Spoken by none other than the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, on May 12, 2025, in Washington. In a deranged and seemingly senile moment, Trump laid claim to the word “equalize” during a speech: “Basically what we're doing is equalizing. It's a new word that I came up with – and I think it's probably the best word.” In fact, the word has existed since the year 1599, as the Merriam-Webster dictionary soberly confirms. And Trump himself had used it just weeks earlier, in March 2025, when talking about defense spending for Ukraine.
One might think it was just a minor anecdote, an amusing slip in the political theater. But it is more than that. Because Trump added yet another grotesque twist with his appearance on Memorial Day, May 26, 2025. At Arlington National Cemetery, where the fallen US soldiers were supposed to be remembered, he talked about himself – and once again stumbled over his own tongue. In a speech that otherwise staggered and often drifted from the teleprompter, he used the word “cryptolagagic.” A term that does not exist. No meaning, no origin, no entry. A void, spoken with the certainty of a man who is rarely questioned.
What he actually meant to say remains unclear. Most likely it was supposed to be “cryptologic” – a technical term for the science of encryption. But from Trump’s mouth, it became “cryptolagagic” – a word that not only confused his listeners but also baffled the internet. Within minutes it was trending on Google, meme material on Facebook, and a goldmine of comments like: “I’ve got a cryptolotogic exam on Wednesday – hope I don’t have to drink it beforehand.”
What might seem like harmless jokes is actually part of a more serious pattern. It’s not just the fact that Trump invents words or thinks he invented ones that already exist – it’s the casual certainty with which he instrumentalizes, distorts, and devalues language. Every word becomes a tool of self-promotion. Every promise a rhetorical balloon. And every mistake – an assault on reality itself.
Language is power. And those who cannot master it are quickly mastered by it. But Trump doesn’t just struggle with confusion – he cultivates it. From “alternative facts” came “alternative words.” The world is no longer explained, but conjured. No longer ordered, but reinvented – by a man who apparently doesn’t know how to spell what he says.
“Equalize” was never his. “Cryptolagagic” was never ours. And if tomorrow we no longer know whether the president remembers his own name, we can only hope that at least the dictionary still exists.
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