Trump ironically names the media and unauthorized immigrants as “illegal”
U.S. President Donald Trump has a complicated history with the word “illegal,” having used it in reference to unauthorized immigrants and negative media coverage. Ironically, he is the first convicted felon to be elected to the Oval Office. Trump’s comments follow the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, comedian and host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! In September, Kimmel addressed the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk. In a dig at the President’s actions after the assassination, Kimmel said, “[Trump and his administration were] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.” ABC has since suspended and reinstated Jimmy Kimmel for his remarks after Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr threatened “regulatory action” against the network. Since September 19, Kimmel and Carr have both received public threats of violence. In defense of Carr, Trump stated that bad press regarding his administration is “really illegal”: “They’ll take a great story and they’ll make it bad…I think that’s really illegal, personally.” Trump’s use of “illegal” to describe a comedian’s inappropriate joke is contemptible, as there are no laws that prohibit negative media coverage of a president. The right to free speech is protected in the First Amendment. President Trump’s comments are ironic, as they fail to address his own legal issues. Rather than having a clean record, the President is a convicted felon, which results in an asterisk next to any claim in which he uses the word “illegal.”
In another case of irony, Trump has a torrid relationship with the word “illegal” in reference to immigration. Rather than using alternatives such as “unauthorized” or “undocumented”, the President has made a deliberate choice in terminology—one that frames immigrants as “others,” a core part of his political message. In a 2018 online debate, Trump tweeted, “They [the Democratic Party] don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our country.” In a pointed comment, Trump uses the word “illegal” to dehumanize unauthorized immigrants within this country. Further, the verb “infest” paints immigrants as wild and perhaps even animal-like, further reinforcing his degrading perspective. This quote is one of thousands that make a jab at Democrats, while also using demeaning language towards migrants.
In an astonishing paradox, the President has used the term “illegal” to describe negative media coverage and unauthorized immigrants while being a criminal offender. As the President begins his second term in office, he has loads of criminal and civil case convictions. For instance, in 2016, a New York court found that President Donald Trump had concealed business records to hide payments to an adult film star. As of September 2025, President Donald Trump’s punishment on paper is referred to as an unconditional discharge, which means he will face no legal penalties in this infamous case, despite being convicted on thirty-four felony counts in January. All comments President Donald Trump delivers should be footnoted, because someone should not be able to refer to a system, or person as “illegal”, when they themselves have been convicted of a felony. The comments following Kimmel’s suspension, the 2018 tweet about “illegal immigrants”, and the irony following Trump’s 2025 criminal case beg the question: who or what is really “illegal” in these scenarios?
