Trump Praises ‘S.S.’ For ‘Great Job’ Handling Protesters, Which is Not the Right Abbreviation

Olivier Douliery/Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s praised the ‘S.S.’ for doing a “GREAT JOB” at handling “protesters, agitators, anarchists (ANTIFA), and others,” on Thursday.

“Our great National Guard Troops who took care of the area around the White House could hardly believe how easy it was. ‘A walk in the park’, one said,” Trump tweeted. “The protesters, agitators, anarchists (ANTIFA), and others, were handled VERY easily by the Guard, D.C. Police, & S.S. GREAT JOB!”

Our great National Guard Troops who took care of the area around the White House could hardly believe how easy it was. “A walk in the park”, one said. The protesters, agitators, anarchists (ANTIFA), and others, were handled VERY easily by the Guard, D.C. Police, & S.S. GREAT JOB!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 11, 2020

Social media users were quick to warn President Trump against using “S.S.” as an abbreviation for the Secret Service, pointing out it’s historical use as the abbreviation for Heinrich Himmler’s Schutzstaffel in Nazi Germany, which rounded up and killed Jews and political opponents.

“Did Trump just use ‘the S.S.’ in a tweet?” reacted NBC and MSNBC legal contributor Katie Phang.

Did Trump just use “the S.S.” in a tweet? ? https://t.co/mvDfpzhJz6

— Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) June 11, 2020

“Who wants to tell him?” commented CNN’s Chris Cillizza.

Who wants to tell him? https://t.co/c2aujL25ij

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) June 11, 2020

Others weighed in similarly:

Style guide note: When praising your security forces for attacking peaceful demonstrators, the preferred usage is “Secret Service” or “USSS.” https://t.co/qsgsd8m5y5

— Yoni Appelbaum (@YAppelbaum) June 11, 2020

I think the US Secret Service tries not to go by “SS” as an acronym. https://t.co/FlCWTse0Yq

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) June 11, 2020

Oh, one more point. It’s USSS. Not SS.

The SS were Nazis. Please don’t use that acronym ever again when describing the Secret Service. https://t.co/YWR5g1AJ3Y

— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) June 11, 2020

For the obvious reasons, the United States Secret Service prefers the acronym “USSS” https://t.co/TIW2Yvx2dK

— Blake News (@blakehounshell) June 11, 2020

This man literally just called the Secret Service (USSS) the “SS.” That really just happened. https://t.co/Z2xlcStfrb

— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) June 11, 2020

You know who else thought the S.S. did a great job against protestors, agitators, anarchists and anti-fascists? https://t.co/zsqxdGrD02

— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) June 11, 2020

“S.S.” WHEW https://t.co/1TyvqAKSwK

— Ana Valens ? (@acvalens) June 11, 2020

Let’s maybe not abbreviate Secret Service as “S.S.” Just a thought. https://t.co/EbMy9D7IHG

— Kyle Potter (@kpottermn) June 11, 2020

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