# Donald Trumps Imaginary Friend Jim > Donald Trump's Imaginary Friend Jim is a 2017 meme spoofing Trump's anecdotes about a mysterious man named Jim who quit visiting Paris because of terrorism—a claim that journalists couldn't substantiate. Donald Trump's "Imaginary" Friend "Jim" is a political meme based on President Donald Trump's repeated references to a mysterious friend named "Jim" who allegedly stopped visiting Paris due to terrorism. The anecdote, first widely noticed during Trump's February 2017 CPAC speech, sparked widespread mockery after multiple investigations by The New Yorker, the Associated Press, and others failed to identify who Jim actually was[3]. The mystery turned into a running joke about the President having an imaginary friend. ## Origin Trump mentioned Jim on the 2016 presidential campaign trail, using the anecdote about Paris to support his anti-immigration stance[4]. But Jim didn't become a national story until February 24, 2017, when Trump delivered a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland[2]. During the speech, Trump told the crowd: "I have a friend, he's a very, very substantial guy. He loves the City of Lights, he loves Paris. For years, every year during the summer, he would go to Paris. It was automatic, with his wife and his family." Trump then described asking Jim how Paris was doing, to which Jim allegedly replied: "Paris? I don't go there anymore. Paris is no longer Paris"[3]. That same day, Twitter user @RubenBolling posted a stock photo of an elderly man golfing with the caption: "Please, help Donald Trump's friend 'Jim,' who can't go to Paris anymore. Give generously. #IStandWithThatSubstantialGuyJim"[4]. The tweet picked up over 50 retweets and 60 likes, kicking off skepticism about whether Jim was a real person. - **Platform:** CPAC speech (source), Twitter (viral spread) - **Creator:** Donald Trump (originator of the anecdote), Vivian Salama (AP reporter who broke the investigation story) - **Date:** 2017 ## Overview The meme revolves around a simple question: does Donald Trump have a friend named Jim, or did he make him up? According to Trump, Jim is "a very, very substantial guy" who loved visiting Paris every summer with his wife and family but stopped going because "Paris is no longer Paris"[1]. Trump used Jim's story as a rhetorical device to criticize European immigration policies and warn about terrorism in France. The problem? Trump never gave Jim a last name. The White House never confirmed Jim's identity. And when reporters went looking for him, they came up empty[3]. The New Yorker contacted Jim Kelly, Jim Dolan, Jim Furyk, Jim Davis, Jim Inhofe, Jim McNerney, and even wondered about Jim Mattis (who doesn't have a wife, ruling him out). None of them were the Jim in question[12]. The whole thing read like a mystery novel where the detective never finds the suspect, and the internet loved it. What made the meme stick was the contrast between the gravity of a sitting president using a friend's testimony to shape foreign policy and the absurdity that said friend might be completely fictional[5]. People compared Jim to Trump's known history of invented personas, including "John Barron" and "John Miller," fake names Trump had used in the 1980s and 1990s to pose as his own spokesperson when calling reporters[1]. ## How It Spread The meme spread in two distinct waves. **Wave 1: February-March 2017.** Right after the CPAC speech, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo fired back on Twitter with a photo of herself alongside Mickey and Minnie Mouse at the Eiffel Tower. She captioned it: "To Donald and his friend Jim, we celebrate the attractiveness of #Paris with Mickey and Minnie" (translated from French)[4]. The tweet pulled in over 1,400 retweets and 2,300 likes[4]. France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also responded on Twitter, noting that 3.5 million American tourists had visited France the previous year[3]. On March 13, 2017, The New Yorker published "Who Is Trump's Friend Jim?", a deadpan investigation by Lauren Collins that systematically contacted every prominent Jim connected to Trump[12]. Each one denied being the Jim in question. David Patrick Columbia of New York Social Diary said, "I haven't got a clue as to who Trump's friend Jim is." Journalist Kati Marton asked, "You really think there is an actual person? Jim is akin to Mexican rapists and Swedish terrorists"[12]. **Wave 2: July 2017.** On July 13, just before Trump's first presidential visit to Paris, the Associated Press published "Trump in Paris: The Curious Case of His Friend Jim," written by White House reporter Vivian Salama[3]. The piece concluded that "whether Jim exists is unclear" and noted the White House had not responded to requests for comment. The AP story was picked up by HuffPost[5], Mashable[1], Salon[8], The AV Club, The Telegraph, and Metro[9]. Twitter created a Moments page dedicated to the story[4]. This second wave triggered a surge of jokes about Trump's imaginary friend. People posted memes comparing Jim to childhood imaginary friends, photoshopping empty chairs next to Trump, and creating mock missing-person posters[7]. Later that day in Paris, during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, a French reporter directly asked Trump about Jim: "A few months ago, you mentioned a friend, Jim, who told you that 'Paris is no longer Paris.' You were implying at the time that Paris was not safe anymore"[5]. Trump nodded at the mention of Jim but did not confirm whether he existed. He pivoted instead, praising Macron and saying "I really have a feeling that you're going to have a very, very peaceful and beautiful Paris"[8]. ## How to Use The Jim meme typically works in a few formats: 1. **The imaginary friend joke:** Reference someone having a "very, very substantial" friend who conveniently validates their opinion but can never be produced. Common pattern: "My friend Jim said [obvious self-serving claim]." 2. **The Paris format:** Adapt the "Paris is no longer Paris" template to any city or situation. "How's [place] doing?" / "[Place] is no longer [place]." 3. **The investigation format:** Pretend to search for Jim, listing increasingly unlikely candidates and having each one deny being Trump's friend. 4. **Missing person parodies:** Create fake missing-person posters or "Have You Seen This Man?" flyers for Jim. ## Cultural Impact The Jim story was notable for drawing serious investigative journalism to what was essentially a meme-worthy question. The Associated Press, The New Yorker, HuffPost, and Salon all dedicated real reporting resources to tracking down a presidential friend who may not exist[3][12][5][8]. The Paris mayor's response made international headlines and demonstrated how foreign leaders used humor and social media to counter Trump's rhetoric[4]. Hidalgo's Mickey Mouse photo became one of the most shared diplomatic clapbacks of 2017. The meme also highlighted a broader pattern in Trump's communication style that journalists and political analysts would track throughout his presidency: the use of unnamed friends, unnamed sources, and "many people are saying" as rhetorical shields for unverifiable claims[11]. ## Fun Facts - The New Yorker's Lauren Collins even considered whether "Jim" might be James Comey, asking "does anybody know if he goes by Jim?"[12] - Jim Mattis, Trump's own Secretary of Defense, was ruled out as a candidate because the Jim in Trump's story travels with "his wife and his family," and Mattis doesn't have a wife[12] - A YouTuber set Trump's Jim speeches to the Phish song "Runaway Jim," creating a mashup that Relix magazine praised[6] - Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey responded to The New Yorker's inquiry with "I only wish!" and signed off with "Vive la France, Jim"[12] - Trump biographer Michael D'Antonio noted that the practice of using fake personas may have been inherited from Trump's father Fred, who sometimes posed as "Mr. Green"[5] ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Trump's Imaginary Friend Jim? It's a meme based on Donald Trump's repeated references to a friend named "Jim" who allegedly stopped visiting Paris because of terrorism. No one has been able to confirm Jim's identity, leading to widespread jokes that the President made him up[3]. ### Where did the Trump's Friend Jim meme come from? Trump mentioned Jim during his 2016 campaign, but the meme took off after his February 24, 2017, CPAC speech where he called Jim "a very, very substantial guy" who said "Paris is no longer Paris"[4]. ### What does the Trump's Friend Jim meme mean? It satirizes the idea of a president citing an unverifiable source to support policy positions. The meme suggests Jim is either imaginary or a rhetorical device Trump uses to frame his anti-immigration arguments[8]. ### How do you use the Trump's Friend Jim meme? The most common format involves citing a fictional "very substantial" friend who conveniently supports your position, or adapting the "[Place] is no longer [Place]" template to other situations[9]. ### Is Trump's Friend Jim still popular? The meme peaked in July 2017 during Trump's Paris visit and largely faded after that. It's now a historical footnote from early Trump-era political humor[3]. ### Did anyone actually find out who Jim is? No. The New Yorker in March 2017 and the Associated Press in July 2017 both conducted investigations and came up empty. The White House never responded to requests for comment about Jim's identity[12][3]. ### How did the Mayor of Paris respond to the Jim story? Anne Hidalgo posted a photo of herself with Mickey and Minnie Mouse at the Eiffel Tower, addressing it "To Donald and his friend Jim" and inviting them to come celebrate Paris[4]. ### Did Trump have a history of making up fictional people? Yes. In the 1980s and 1990s, Trump posed as fictional spokespeople "John Barron" and "John Miller" when calling reporters to promote himself[1]. ### Was Trump ever directly asked about Jim? Yes. During a July 13, 2017, press conference in Paris with President Macron, a French reporter asked Trump about Jim. Trump nodded at the mention but did not confirm Jim's existence, instead praising Paris and Macron[5]. ### What investigations were published about Jim? The New Yorker published "Who Is Trump's Friend Jim?" on March 13, 2017[12], and the AP published "Trump in Paris: The Curious Case of His Friend Jim" on July 13, 2017[3]. Both concluded Jim's identity was a mystery. ## References 1. [Report strongly implies Trump's friend name Jim is imaginary | Mashable]() 2. [Donald Trump CPAC Speech: Read a Complete Transcript | TIME]() 3. [Trump in Paris: The curious case of his friend Jim | AP News]() 4. [Donald Trump's "Imaginary" Friend "Jim" - Know Your Meme]() 5. [QAnon]() 6. [It Looks Like Donald Trump Made Up A Friend | HuffPost Latest News]() 7. [The Story of Donald Trump’s Imaginary Friend Jim Set to “Runaway Jim” is Absolute Perfection]() 8. [Who is Jim: The internet has a lot of ideas about the president’s mysterious friend]() 9. [Meet Trump's imaginary friend "Jim," who makes his arguments for him - Salon.com]() 10. [Is President Donald Trump's friend 'Jim' actually real? | Metro News]() 11. [Trump in Paris: the curious case of his friend Jim | The Associated Press]() 12. [Trump's Imaginary Friend - Lawyers, Guns & Money]() 13. [Who Is Donald Trump's Friend Jim? | PS News]() 14. [Trump in Paris: The curious case of his friend Jim | AP News]() 15. [The A.V. Club — Pop culture obsessives writing for the pop culture obsessed.]() 16. [Who Is Trump’s Friend Jim?  | The New Yorker]() 17. [It Looks Like Donald Trump Made Up A Friend | HuffPost Latest News]() 18. [Report strongly implies Trump's friend name Jim is imaginary | Mashable]() 19. [Donald Trump CPAC Speech: Read a Complete Transcript | TIME]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/donald-trumps-imaginary-friend-jim Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library