# Trigger the Libs

Trigger the Libs is a conservative catchphrase describing actions taken specifically to upset liberals, first posted on Twitter during the 2016 US presidential campaign. The left quickly reappropriated it as a sarcastic label for right-wing figures doing self-debasing things, from eating well-done steak to drinking from a toilet-sink, in the hope of scoring a political point.

## Origin
The exact phrase "Trigger the libs" first appeared on Twitter on July 31st, 2016, in a post by user @S55N007 commenting on an outfit worn by Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign[2]. The idea of "triggering" liberals had circulated on the right well before that, piggybacking on the "trigger warning" discourse of the mid-2010s, but this tweet is the earliest documented pairing of the exact three-word phrase[5].

- **Platform:** Twitter (origin) / Reddit r/The_Donald (viral spread)
- **Creator:** @S55N007 (earliest documented use)
- **Date:** 2016

## Overview
Trigger the Libs works on two levels at once. On the right, the phrase (along with variants like "own the libs" and "own the snowflakes") frames an action as a win because it supposedly annoys liberals, with examples ranging from clothing choices to food orders to stunts staged on college campuses[5]. On the left, the same phrase is used sarcastically, pointing out that the "win" usually requires the person to publicly humiliate themselves. The format's running punchline is that the stunt is more embarrassing than persuasive[4].

The recurring targets of mockery are conservative media figures and online personalities whose provocations tend to look ridiculous. Infowars editor Paul Joseph Watson, for example, built a side genre of videos in which he ate sushi and drank milk while flashing the OK hand sign to annoy liberals[6]. Common examples center on food, dress, and props: a well-done steak with ketchup[1], a Papa John's rehearsal dinner, Turning Point USA members dressed in diapers to mock safe spaces[5]. The sarcastic reply format pairs the stunt image with a flat line like "yes, everyone who hates liberals please chug toilet water all day, it makes us so mad"[11].

## How to Use
The sincere version pairs a photo of some ordinary conservative-coded choice (a steak order, a hat, a pizza chain) with the claim that it will upset liberals. The sarcastic counter-version, which is the one that drives most of the meme's lifespan, quote-tweets or screenshots the earnest post and adds a deadpan line about how debasing yourself to annoy strangers online is not the own the poster thinks it is[10].

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Trigger the Libs?
It is a catchphrase used by some conservatives and alt-right accounts to describe actions taken specifically to upset liberals, often shortened to variants like "own the libs"[5].

### Where did Trigger the Libs come from?
The phrase first appeared on Twitter on July 31st, 2016, in a post by user @S55N007 commenting on a Hillary Clinton outfit during the US presidential campaign[2].

### What does Trigger the Libs mean?
Sincerely, it frames an action as a political win because it supposedly annoys liberals; sarcastically, the left uses it to point out that the "win" is a self-debasing stunt, like eating well-done steak with ketchup or chugging toilet water[1][10].

### How do you use Trigger the Libs?
Sincere posts pair a conservative-coded image with the claim it will upset liberals, while sarcastic replies caption the same stunt with lines like "Drinking toilet water to own the libs" to mock the attempt[10].

### Is Trigger the Libs still popular?
The exact phrase peaked between 2016 and 2019 during Trump's first term and the AOC border video cycle, and is still used as a classic shorthand for self-defeating political provocation online[11].

## References
1. [https://uproxx.com/life/trump-steaks-catsup-ketchup-well-done-food-crimes/](<https://uproxx.com/life/trump-steaks-catsup-ketchup-well-done-food-crimes/>)
2. [https://twitter.com/S55N007/status/759850865758916612](<https://twitter.com/S55N007/status/759850865758916612>)
3. [https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/836331465306701825](<https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/836331465306701825>)
4. [https://thenib.com/high-steaks/](<https://thenib.com/high-steaks/>)
5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/trigger-the-libs](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/trigger-the-libs>)
6. [https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/859061671846977536](<https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/859061671846977536>)
7. [https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1145764653835964419](<https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1145764653835964419>)
8. [https://web.archive.org/web/20200812174129/https://www.infowars.com/border-patrol-agent-drinks-from-toilet-to-debunk-aoc/](<https://web.archive.org/web/20200812174129/https://www.infowars.com/border-patrol-agent-drinks-from-toilet-to-debunk-aoc/>)
9. [https://twitter.com/JackClayton617/status/1148419005889306624](<https://twitter.com/JackClayton617/status/1148419005889306624>)
10. [https://twitter.com/MatthewACherry/status/1148683852245716992](<https://twitter.com/MatthewACherry/status/1148683852245716992>)
11. [https://twitter.com/MrBrandonStroud/status/1148687846796091393](<https://twitter.com/MrBrandonStroud/status/1148687846796091393>)

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Source: https://meme.com/memes/trigger-the-libs
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