About

Yo Semites refers to a mispronunciation of the word "Yosemite's" by Donald Trump at a White House ceremony. After the error, many Twitter users joked about the mispronunciation as if it were used to greet a Jewish person.

Origin

On August 4th, 2020, while speaking at a White House signing ceremony for the Great American Outdoors act, President Trump flubbed the word "Yosemite's," saying "When young Americans experience the breathtaking beauty of the Grand Canyon, when their eyes widen in amazement as Old Faithful bursts into the sky. When they gaze upon Yo-Semite’s, Yo-Semite’s towering sequoias"^[1] (shown below).

Spread

After the clip was posted to Twitter, many users joked that the phrase "yo, Semites" sounded like greeting for Semitic people. For example, user @SamStein^[2] tweeted, "To my fellow Semites, yo," gaining over 290 retweets and 3,300 likes (shown below, left). User @itsJeffTiedrich^[3] posted "'yo, semites' is how I greet everyone at the synagogue", gaining over 530 retweets and 4,600 likes (shown below, right).

Other Twitter users joked the term reminded them of hip-hop and jews. For example, Twitter user @HoganLegDrop^[4] posted a picture of the Beastie Boys, saying, "The original Yo Semites" (shown below, left). User @TheAngus^[5] posted a picture of several Hasidic Jews, one wearing a gold chain, gaining over 30 retweets and 140 likes (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References