Rep. Byron Donalds, the Black Republican congressman from Florida who was one of Donald Trump’s most stalwart surrogates on the campaign trail, shared MAGA’s excitement over their return to power Sunday by invoking the returning president’s cringy new nickname. “Daddy’s back!” Donalds enthused during a Fox News panel discussion. “And that’s what you’re going to see.” While never-Trumpers and progressives may find the nickname unsettling, considering the president’s autocratic tendencies, MAGA has embraced its big poppa ever since Tucker Carlson first coined the sobriquet last fall. U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) talks to reporters as he leaves the U.S. Capitol on November 14, 2023 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives voted on a series of bills including an interim spending bill it passed to fund the government, which will now go to the Senate for consideration. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) “When Americans see deportations or repatriations happen, they’re gonna be like, ‘Thank you!’ When they see the border closed, they’re gonna say, ‘This is what I voted for,’” Donalds said. “When they see peace starting to break out again around the world, they’re gonna be like, ‘This is the stability that we were asking for.’” The Florida legislator predicted Americans would come to see Trump as their collective father. Black man calling a white man daddy https://t.co/HgooKY0CR3— CJ G (@cjgproduxions) January 19, 2025 Not everyone is looking for a new daddy, however. Some critics on X found it distasteful for a Black man to refer to a white man that way. “Byron Donalds is shameful,” posted one Democratic activist. Added another commenter, “Who needs Pornhub? Just listen to Byron talk about Trump.” “He meant Massa,” one person chimed in. But others were lost on the racial taboo Donalds allegedly violated. “Meaning play times over Dads home and you kids better clean up all the mess you made,” a commenter replied. “This is not complicated.” Donalds is no stranger to controversy. Last June, Donalds was roundly criticized after he spoke favorably of Black culture in the Jim Crow era of state-sponsored discrimination. “You see, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together,” Donalds said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “During Jim Crow, more Black people were not just conservative — Black people have always been conservative-minded — but more Black people voted conservatively. And then (the Department of Health, Education and Welfare), Lyndon Johnson — you go down that road, and now we are where we are.” The Congressional Black Caucus, among numerous critics, called on Donalds to apologize “for misrepresenting one of the darkest chapters in our history for his own political gain.” Back in September, at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, Trump referred to Donalds as “one of the smart ones,” a remark widely criticized for its perceived racial undertones. While some defended the comment as praise directed at a political ally, others pointed to Trump’s history of inflammatory rhetoric on race, including past remarks like “look at my African-American” and his infamous “very fine people on both sides” comment after the Charlottesville rally. The origins of Trump as “daddy” date back to October, when former Fox News host Tucker Carlson offered a strange analogy that framed the Republican nominee as an abusive father. “There has to be a point at which Dad comes home. Yeah, that’s right. Dad comes home. And he’s pissed. Dad is pissed,” Carlson said at a campaign rally in Georgia. “He’s not vengeful. He loves his children. Disobedient as they may be, he loves them because they’re his children. They live in his house. But he’s very disappointed in their behavior and he’s going to have to let them know.” He continued: “Get to your room right now and think about what you did!’ And when Dad gets home, you know what he says? “You’ve been a bad girl. You’ve been a bad little girl and you’re getting a vigorous spanking right now. And no, it’s not going to hurt me more than it hurts you. No, it’s not. I’m not going to lie. This is going to hurt you a lot more than it hurts me. And you earned this. You’re getting a vigorous spanking because you’ve been a bad girl.'” Creepy though it was, the base loved it, and ever since, more and more MAGA devotees are referring to Trump as daddy. But even though the nickname is just a few months old, there are signs its use has already jumped a hammerhead or two. Just listen to MAGA rapper Tom MacDonald’s new song, “Daddy’s Home,” which features Trump-loving comic Roseanne Barr. “We won, you mad, it’s done, too bad, boo-hoo, so sad, now your daddy’s home,” McDonald and Barr shout throughout the song. “If you can’t handle all the facts and make up lies about it (liar). Say goodbye to Joe, your daddy’s coming home (coming home).” ‘He Meant Massa’: Byron Donalds Ripped Apart By Critics for Calling Donald Trump GOP Pet Name, ‘Daddy’ In Fox News Appearance