About

"A Small Loan of a Million Dollars" is a statement uttered by 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a live television segment in which he confessed that his father loaned him one million dollars to start his real estate business. After being posted online in late October 2015, the statement was widely mocked online for being delusional and out of touch.

Origin

On October 26th, 2015, Trump appeared at a live town hall segment on the television show Today, where he answered questions from members of the audience. After being asked if he had "ever been told 'no'", Trump responded that his life had "not been easy" and that his father gave him a "small loan of a million dollars" (shown below).

"It has not been easy for me. It has not been easy for me. I started off in Brooklyn. My father gave me a small loan of a million dollars. I came into Manhattan, and I had to pay him back, and I had to pay him back with interest. But I came into Manhattan and I started buying properties, and I did great."

Spread

That day, Redditor jlew24asu submitted an article about the statement to the /r/NotTheOnion^[1] subreddit, where it gathered more than 5,700 votes (92% upvoted) and 2,000 comments over the next month. On October 30th, 2015, YouTuber Bajan Entertainment uploaded an edited version of the interview clip, in which a man performs an exasperated reaction to Trump's statement (shown below).

On November 4th, Youtuber Pyrocynical uploaded a video titled "A Million Dollars," in which he mocks Trump's statement for being out of touch (shown below, left). Within three weeks, the video received upwards of 290,000 views and 3,500 comments. On November 17th, a petition was created on Change.org^[3] titled "Give Pyrocynical a Small Loan of a Million Dollars," which gained over 2,300 supporters in one week. On November 19th, YouTuber Flater uploaded an edited version of the music video for the 1986 pop song "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler combined with the Trump clip (shown below, right).

The same day, YouTuber Nexxiar uploaded a video of Trump's mouth uttering the statement in front of a green background (shown below, left). On November 21st, Pyrocynical uploaded a video titled "A Small Loan of a Million Dollars," in which he discusses the viral success of the meme (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References