A portrait of Donald Trump with a speech bubble containing the word 'Panican.'

Panican

2025Political slang / catchphraseactive

Published April 7, 2026

Panican is a political insult coined by U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social on April 7, 2025, targeting critics of his sweeping reciprocal tariffs. A portmanteau of "panic" and "American" (or possibly "Republican"), the word was meant to dismiss anyone worried about the economic fallout from his trade policies as "weak and stupid." The term immediately went viral, spawning jokes, memes, and counter-insults across social media, and was later officially adopted by the White House and U.S. government agencies in their communications.

trump memes political satire memes slang memes portmanteau memes tariff trade war memes

Overview

Panican, a neologism created by President Trump as a derogatory label for people he considers overly panicked about the economic consequences of his tariff policies. Trump defined a "panican" as belonging to "a new party based on weak and stupid people"1. The word is widely interpreted as a blend of "panic" and "American," though some observers have suggested it could also combine "panic" with "Republican," aimed at GOP members who broke ranks to criticize the tariffs2. Cyberdefinitions.com even floated "Canadian" as a possible second element in the portmanteau9. The term functions both as a political insult and a rallying cry, framing opposition to Trump's trade strategy as cowardice rather than legitimate concern.

Origin & Background

Platform
Truth Social
Creator
Donald Trump
Date
2025

On the morning of April 7, 2025, two days after his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs took effect, President Trump posted a message on Truth Social urging Americans to stay the course3. The global tariffs, the highest imposed by the U.S. in roughly a century, had already triggered a massive stock market selloff. The S&P 500 had dropped about 10 percent since the April 2 announcement, and roughly $5 trillion in market value had been erased in just two trading days2.

Trump's post read: "The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO. Don't be Weak! Don't be Stupid! Don't be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!). Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!"10. The post picked up over 43,000 likes and 9,300 retruths within a day on Truth Social5. Trump later reposted the same message to X, where it collected over 125,000 likes in a similar timeframe5.

How It Spread

The term went viral within hours. On X, user @MikeNellis reposted the Truth Social message with the comment "He's panicking…," pulling in over 6,800 likes in about four hours7. The post was shared to the subreddit r/WallStreetbetsELITE, where it picked up 650+ upvotes5. User @Whatapityonyou wrote, "He knows he's f***ed — you can tell because the best insult he could come up with is 'panican' (??)"7.

The jokes came fast. Fictional "Republican congressman" @RepJackKimble posted, "Oh phew. When I heard Trump created a new word PANICAN, I thought that meant we were invading Panama and Canada today," earning over 1,100 likes2. Political scientist Ian Bremmer offered his own definition: "Panican (n) — cross between a penguin and a pangolin, capable of causing unspeakable havoc to [the] global market"2. On X, @pourmecoffee quipped, "'Is it possible to learn these powers?' — Panican Skywalker," while @jarvis_best rewrote the Willy Wonka "Candy Man" song: "Who can take a tarifffff / And a trade war or twoooo / Cause a global panic and a recession too / The Panican can"4.

On the other side, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene embraced the term, writing on X: "PANICANS are losers and failures! Don't be a PANICAN!!"3. Jon Stewart dedicated a segment of The Daily Show to mocking the word: "The genius who gave us classics like Sleepy Joe and Crooked Hillary, just s*** out, 'You're a Panican'? How about Hysterocrats? Repussicans? How about Cryontologists?"2. Hashtags including #DontBeAPanican and #PanicanParty trended across social media8.

Frequently Asked Questions