Trump Is Coming Trumpiscoming

2016Participatory video challengedead

Also known as: Trump's Coming Challenge · #TrumpIsComingChallenge · #TrumpsComingChallenge

Trump Is Coming is a 2016 participatory video challenge where someone yells "Trump is coming!" and nearby people scatter in exaggerated panic, derived from the "Andy's Coming" trend.

"Trump Is Coming" (#TrumpIsComing) is a participatory video challenge where someone yells "Trump is coming!" and everyone nearby scatters in exaggerated panic. It originated on the morning of November 9, 2016, the day after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, and spread rapidly among American high school students as a spin-off of the earlier "Andy's Coming" challenge13.

trump memesparticipatory video memeschallenge memespolitical satire memes

Overview

The format is dead simple. One person acts as the caller and shouts "Trump is coming!" to a group of people, usually in a school hallway, cafeteria, or outdoor area. Everyone within earshot then reacts with over-the-top panic: screaming, sprinting away from the camera, crying, or otherwise performing total chaos4. The humor came from treating the president-elect's arrival like a disaster movie scenario6.

The challenge borrowed its core mechanic from the "Andy's Coming" fad, where people dropped to the floor like Toy Story characters when someone yelled "Andy's coming!"4. But instead of playing dead, participants in the Trump version ran for their lives3.

Twitter user @EmiChavez uploaded the first known "Trump Is Coming" video on the morning of November 9, 2016, hours after Donald Trump was projected as the winner of the presidential election5. The clip showed a crowd of students fleeing the camera in a frenzy of screaming after Chavez yelled the now-iconic line5.

The timing was no accident. The "Andy's Coming" challenge had already been circulating in early November 2016, itself riding the wave of the Mannequin Challenge, which had taken off just weeks earlier4. With the election result still fresh and emotions running high, the Trump-themed variation clicked instantly with teenage audiences1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter (original video), Vine / Snapchat (viral spread)
Creator
@EmiChavez
Date
2016

Twitter user @EmiChavez uploaded the first known "Trump Is Coming" video on the morning of November 9, 2016, hours after Donald Trump was projected as the winner of the presidential election. The clip showed a crowd of students fleeing the camera in a frenzy of screaming after Chavez yelled the now-iconic line.

The timing was no accident. The "Andy's Coming" challenge had already been circulating in early November 2016, itself riding the wave of the Mannequin Challenge, which had taken off just weeks earlier. With the election result still fresh and emotions running high, the Trump-themed variation clicked instantly with teenage audiences.

How It Spread

Within days of Chavez's original post, copycat videos flooded Twitter under the hashtags #TrumpIsComing and #TrumpIsComingChallenge. High school students across the U.S. filmed their own versions in classrooms, hallways, and courtyards, each trying to outdo the last with more dramatic reactions.

By November 17, 2016, the trend had caught the attention of major media outlets. TIME, Mashable, GQ, The Guardian, Cheezburger, and Yahoo News all ran stories covering the challenge that same day. TIME described it as offering "a glimpse into the teenage reaction to 'President Trump'". GQ praised the teens' resilience, calling it proof that "the future's gonna be alright". The Guardian framed it simply as the new social media craze replacing the Mannequin Challenge.

Cheezburger's coverage noted the trend was spreading through "Vine or Snapchat or whatever kids are using these days," comparing the students' reactions to "a Tokyo resident in a Godzilla movie, except much more real". Mashable called it "the most terrifying challenge yet" and jokingly advised participants to "warm up your vocals for screaming, your legs for running and maybe even consider breaking out the tissues".

Most participants appeared to be high school students too young to have voted in the election, channeling their reaction to the political moment into comedy. The videos typically lasted only a few seconds, making them ideal for short-form platforms like Vine and Snapchat that were popular among teens at the time.

How to Use This Meme

The challenge follows three steps, as GQ outlined:

1

Find a group of people going about their normal routine (school settings worked best)

2

Shout "Trump is coming!" loud enough for everyone to hear

3

Watch as the group scatters in exaggerated terror while you film the reaction

Cultural Impact

The challenge landed during a specific window in late 2016 when viral video challenges were peaking. The Mannequin Challenge had dominated social media in early November, and "Andy's Coming" provided a bridge to more politically charged content. "Trump Is Coming" was one of the first major post-election memes to process the 2016 result through humor rather than direct commentary.

The wave of media coverage on November 17, 2016 turned what could have been a one-day Twitter joke into a nationally recognized trend. The challenge captured a particular generational mood: teens too young to vote but old enough to have opinions, using the tools they knew best (smartphones and short-form video) to express themselves.

Fun Facts

The original "Andy's Coming" challenge it spun off from referenced the 1995 Pixar film Toy Story, where toys freeze when their owner Andy approaches.

GQ specifically noted that viewers should "definitely not participate in if your office decides to make their own almost-certainly-wack version".

Cheezburger's writer deadpanned that the challenge was "barely funny" and "more just a thing to look at, nod your head, and say, 'Yeah, that sounds about right'".

The trend was part of a rapid-fire sequence of viral challenges in November 2016: Mannequin Challenge, then Andy's Coming, then Trump Is Coming, all within a few weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Trump Is Coming Trumpiscoming

2016Participatory video challengedead

Also known as: Trump's Coming Challenge · #TrumpIsComingChallenge · #TrumpsComingChallenge

Trump Is Coming is a 2016 participatory video challenge where someone yells "Trump is coming!" and nearby people scatter in exaggerated panic, derived from the "Andy's Coming" trend.

"Trump Is Coming" (#TrumpIsComing) is a participatory video challenge where someone yells "Trump is coming!" and everyone nearby scatters in exaggerated panic. It originated on the morning of November 9, 2016, the day after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, and spread rapidly among American high school students as a spin-off of the earlier "Andy's Coming" challenge.

trump memes participatory video memes challenge memes political satire memes

Overview

The format is dead simple. One person acts as the caller and shouts "Trump is coming!" to a group of people, usually in a school hallway, cafeteria, or outdoor area. Everyone within earshot then reacts with over-the-top panic: screaming, sprinting away from the camera, crying, or otherwise performing total chaos. The humor came from treating the president-elect's arrival like a disaster movie scenario.

The challenge borrowed its core mechanic from the "Andy's Coming" fad, where people dropped to the floor like Toy Story characters when someone yelled "Andy's coming!". But instead of playing dead, participants in the Trump version ran for their lives.

Twitter user @EmiChavez uploaded the first known "Trump Is Coming" video on the morning of November 9, 2016, hours after Donald Trump was projected as the winner of the presidential election. The clip showed a crowd of students fleeing the camera in a frenzy of screaming after Chavez yelled the now-iconic line.

The timing was no accident. The "Andy's Coming" challenge had already been circulating in early November 2016, itself riding the wave of the Mannequin Challenge, which had taken off just weeks earlier. With the election result still fresh and emotions running high, the Trump-themed variation clicked instantly with teenage audiences.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter (original video), Vine / Snapchat (viral spread)
Creator
@EmiChavez
Date
2016

Twitter user @EmiChavez uploaded the first known "Trump Is Coming" video on the morning of November 9, 2016, hours after Donald Trump was projected as the winner of the presidential election. The clip showed a crowd of students fleeing the camera in a frenzy of screaming after Chavez yelled the now-iconic line.

The timing was no accident. The "Andy's Coming" challenge had already been circulating in early November 2016, itself riding the wave of the Mannequin Challenge, which had taken off just weeks earlier. With the election result still fresh and emotions running high, the Trump-themed variation clicked instantly with teenage audiences.

How It Spread

Within days of Chavez's original post, copycat videos flooded Twitter under the hashtags #TrumpIsComing and #TrumpIsComingChallenge. High school students across the U.S. filmed their own versions in classrooms, hallways, and courtyards, each trying to outdo the last with more dramatic reactions.

By November 17, 2016, the trend had caught the attention of major media outlets. TIME, Mashable, GQ, The Guardian, Cheezburger, and Yahoo News all ran stories covering the challenge that same day. TIME described it as offering "a glimpse into the teenage reaction to 'President Trump'". GQ praised the teens' resilience, calling it proof that "the future's gonna be alright". The Guardian framed it simply as the new social media craze replacing the Mannequin Challenge.

Cheezburger's coverage noted the trend was spreading through "Vine or Snapchat or whatever kids are using these days," comparing the students' reactions to "a Tokyo resident in a Godzilla movie, except much more real". Mashable called it "the most terrifying challenge yet" and jokingly advised participants to "warm up your vocals for screaming, your legs for running and maybe even consider breaking out the tissues".

Most participants appeared to be high school students too young to have voted in the election, channeling their reaction to the political moment into comedy. The videos typically lasted only a few seconds, making them ideal for short-form platforms like Vine and Snapchat that were popular among teens at the time.

How to Use This Meme

The challenge follows three steps, as GQ outlined:

1

Find a group of people going about their normal routine (school settings worked best)

2

Shout "Trump is coming!" loud enough for everyone to hear

3

Watch as the group scatters in exaggerated terror while you film the reaction

Cultural Impact

The challenge landed during a specific window in late 2016 when viral video challenges were peaking. The Mannequin Challenge had dominated social media in early November, and "Andy's Coming" provided a bridge to more politically charged content. "Trump Is Coming" was one of the first major post-election memes to process the 2016 result through humor rather than direct commentary.

The wave of media coverage on November 17, 2016 turned what could have been a one-day Twitter joke into a nationally recognized trend. The challenge captured a particular generational mood: teens too young to vote but old enough to have opinions, using the tools they knew best (smartphones and short-form video) to express themselves.

Fun Facts

The original "Andy's Coming" challenge it spun off from referenced the 1995 Pixar film Toy Story, where toys freeze when their owner Andy approaches.

GQ specifically noted that viewers should "definitely not participate in if your office decides to make their own almost-certainly-wack version".

Cheezburger's writer deadpanned that the challenge was "barely funny" and "more just a thing to look at, nod your head, and say, 'Yeah, that sounds about right'".

The trend was part of a rapid-fire sequence of viral challenges in November 2016: Mannequin Challenge, then Andy's Coming, then Trump Is Coming, all within a few weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions