Trump Jr. says he inherited ‘Tourette’s of the thumbs’ from his father

Donald Trump Jr. said in a recent interview that he has been told by his father to dial down some of his rhetoric on Twitter.

In an excerpt of his interview with “Axios on HBO” that was released on Sunday, Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei asked Trump Jr. whether his father has ever told him to “cool it” on Twitter.

“I have gotten that phone call before,” Trump Jr. responded. “It’s like, you know, picking up the phone. ‘This is the White House operator.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, boy. What did I do now?'”

“‘You’re getting a little too aggressive.’ You know, and then I’m just like, ‘I learned it by watching you,'” he continued before going on to explain how he thinks he inherited the trait from his father.

“I inherited the Tourette’s of the thumbs,” he continued. “And then about two hours later, I see [President Trump] basically doing the same. I’m like, he wasn’t mad at my tweet. He just wanted the material. He was mad I beat him to the punch. I’m saying he’s stealing my material.”

On #AxiosOnHBO this evening, @DonaldJTrumpJr reacts to his dad telling him to tone it down on Twitter: “I learned it by watching you.” pic.twitter.com/zeh45Jyv82

— Axios (@axios) March 8, 2020

Trump Jr., much like his father, is a frequent user of social media, which he often utilizes as a platform to attack his and his father’s critics with similar fiery language. 

In 2018, he shared a Instagram post mocking Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations of sexual assault brought against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The post was captioned “Judge Kavanaugh’s sexual assault letter found by Dems” and featured a photo of a childlike note written in red crayon that read, “Hi Cindy, will you be my girlfriend.”

At the time, then-GOP Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), who had been one of the more vocal critics of Trump in the Senate’s right wing, condemned the post as “sickening” and said that “no one should make light of this situation.”