To sign 'Trump', use your dominant hand in an open, flat handshape with your fingers held together. Place your hand near the hairline on the dominant side of your forehead, ensuring your palm is facing toward your head. Smoothly sweep your hand across the front of your hairline to the opposite side, mimicking the motion of styling a comb-over. The hand can lightly touch your hair or hover just above it as you complete the movement.
To sign this sentence, you will first use the sweeping motion across your forehead to sign 'Trump'. After establishing the subject, sign the number '45', and finish with the standard sign for 'President', which involves bringing both 'C' hands outward from your forehead as if grasping a hat.
Start by establishing the topic with the sign for 'Trump'. Next, use the sign for 'interview' by moving both 'I' hands back and forth near your mouth. Finally, sign 'watch' and raise your eyebrows to indicate that you are asking a yes or no question.
Begin your sentence with the sign for 'Trump'. Then, use the sign for 'speak' near your mouth. Follow this up with the sign for 'news' on your non-dominant hand, and conclude by signing 'tonight' to give the complete context of when the event is happening.
To sign this sentence, you will first use the sweeping motion across your forehead to sign 'Trump'. After establishing the subject, sign the number '45', and finish with the standard sign for 'President', which involves bringing both 'C' hands outward from your forehead as if grasping a hat.
Start by establishing the topic with the sign for 'Trump'. Next, use the sign for 'interview' by moving both 'I' hands back and forth near your mouth. Finally, sign 'watch' and raise your eyebrows to indicate that you are asking a yes or no question.
Begin your sentence with the sign for 'Trump'. Then, use the sign for 'speak' near your mouth. Follow this up with the sign for 'news' on your non-dominant hand, and conclude by signing 'tonight' to give the complete context of when the event is happening.
While the sign definitely originated from a prominent visual characteristic—his unique hairstyle—it is not considered a joke. It has become the standard, widely accepted name sign for Donald Trump throughout the Deaf community. You will see it used in everyday casual conversations as well as in highly formal professional settings, including national news broadcasts and political interpreting.
If the context of your conversation is already clear, you can go ahead and use the sign directly. However, when you are introducing him for the very first time in a discussion, it is standard practice to fingerspell T-R-U-M-P first, immediately followed by the sign to establish who you are talking about.
Your hand can lightly brush against your hair or forehead, or it can hover just slightly above the hairline as it sweeps across. Either variation is perfectly acceptable and easily understood by fluent signers. Just focus on making sure the sweeping motion and the flat handshape are clear and deliberate.
