Trump accuses de Blasio of stealing campaign slogan

President Trump on Tuesday accused New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio of ripping off his reelection campaign slogan.

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The president lobbed the accusation at his longtime Democratic foe after the mayor spoke at a Brooklyn event in front of a sign that read “Promises Made, Promises Kept,” a phrase Trump has used at his campaign-style rallies. 

“Bill DeBlasio, the high taxing Mayor of NYC, just stole my campaign slogan: PROMISES MADE  PROMISES KEPT! That’s not at all nice. No imagination!” Trump tweeted. 

Bill DeBlasio, the high taxing Mayor of NYC, just stole my campaign slogan: PROMISES MADE PROMISES KEPT! That’s not at all nice. No imagination! @foxandfriends

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 21, 2018 

A de Blasio spokesman denied that the mayor was copying Trump, noting that the slogan has been used by many politicians. 

“This is stupid,” spokesman Eric Phillips told the New York Daily News. “It is not novel rhetoric.” 

Elected officials used the phrase “Promises Made, Promises Kept” for years, dating back to Michigan Gov. John Engler (R), who served in the 1990s, and Chicago’s mayor in the 1980s, Harold Washington (D).    

Former President Obama also used the slogan during his 2012 reelection race. 

Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” was also used by former President Reagan. 

De Blasio and Trump have long been enemies, with the New York mayor likening the president to a “third-world dictator” and the president calling the mayor “pathetic.”