Why Trump likes to belittle ‘Mini Mike’ Bloomberg about his height
- US president likes height-shaming enemies, particularly those shorter than him
- Experts say tall people have an advantage in politics – and other walks of life as well
When Donald Trump literally belittles his perceived enemies – by mocking their stature – he is weaponising a long-standing maxim of US presidential politics: taller guys tend to win the White House.
Trump – who stands at about 190cm (6’3) depending on which source you use – has hammered away of late at Michael Bloomberg, the former New York mayor whose campaign for the Democratic nomination is gathering pace.
Bloomberg officially is about 172cm (5’8), but in recent tweets and interviews, Trump has lopped four inches off and alleged that Bloomberg asked to stand on a box during Democratic primary debates.
He also christened the media mogul with a new nickname: “Mini Mike”.
All this height-shaming is not new for the Republican leader. He also has slapped ‘little’ or ‘liddle’ (or even liddle’, apostrophe included) on a number of lawmakers of varying heights – Adam Schiff, Marco Rubio, Bob Corker, to name a few.
Indeed, Trump seems keenly aware that in America, height matters.
What sets Trump apart is how unabashedly he is trying to use it to his advantage.