President Donald Trump is “feeling 22,” according to reports.
By that, we don’t mean that he’s been listening to the iconic Taylor Swift track on repeat (her public endorsement of former President Joe Biden, a Trump rival, would indicate that he’s not). We mean that he seems… really into the number 22.
NBC News first noted the frequency with which the president brings up “22” in an article published Sunday. According to the report, Trump has claimed that the U.S. military destroyed 22 Iranian ships, that he proved 22 Nobel Prize-winning economists wrong about the economy and reported meeting with 22 medical specialists during a recent examination at Walter Reed, the outlet noted. He also claimed that Washington D.C. has 22 fountains, though AlterNet reported that it actually has 18.
Wait, there’s more. Trump has also criticized The New York Times for placing a prescription drug story on page 22, complained that a hypothetical trip to Asia would require 22 hours of flying, referenced a swimming pool he constructed 22 years ago and remarked on 22 people being shot in Chicago over one weekend.
“Despite the number’s undeniable presence in Trump’s recent rhetoric, no clear explanation has emerged for its significance,” said The Independent in a Monday article. “The president has not publicly addressed why it has become such a frequent reference point, leaving political observers to speculate, with some social media users claiming the repetition is tied to his preoccupation with the 22nd Amendment or even cognitive decline.”
Trump’s reported “preoccupation” with the 22nd amendment is linked to his refusal to rule out running for a third term in office. That third term would be prohibited by the 22nd amendment.
This month Trump turned 80 and celebrated with an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the front lawn of the White House. If he were to run for another term, he would be 82 during the election and 86 by the end of the term.
He’s already been the subject of rumors about his health and mental state. For example, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom questioned whether Trump had dementia in social media post and an expert voiced concern about his alleged habit of falling asleep in public.
Besides Swift’s “22” and the 22nd amendment, there’s also Joseph Heller’s classic novel “Catch-22” that gave rise to the phrase of the same name referring to a paradoxical situation “no win” situation due to contradictory rules or conditions. In numerology, 22 is a “master number” and there are 22 cards in a tarot deck. Yet, as The Independent noted, it’s not clear why exactly Trump is “obsessed” with the number lately.
It does seem to be merely the latest number that Trump has latched on to. Last year, The Atlantic reported that he frequently referenced 92 and Bloomberg noted that Trump often reached for 10,000. The president is also fond of repeated nicknames, and he often recites the poem “The Snake” at political rallies, so repeated numbers might be part of his presentation style.
