You might have heard or seen Tweeps using this term on Twitter and gotten confused about it, but don’t worry since today you will learn about the origin of the term and why some tweeps prefer using it.
So, what does TFG stand for on Twitter?
TFG is an acronym for “The Former Guy.” The phrase “The Former Guy” was inspired by President Joe Biden dismissively referring to Donald Trump as “the former guy” while moving away from queries about his predecessor during a February 2021 town hall.
When reporting on the event for The New York Times, writer Gail Collins proposed TFG as a nickname that could be used to mock and irritate Trump by avoiding the use of his real name.
Over the next few months, opponents’ use of TFG to refer to Trump on social media grew.
Why did the tfg term become widely used?
Using TFG to refer to Trump is regarded as an instance of “Voldemorting,” the practice of avoiding the specific mention of a person’s name in an online conversation in order to avoid drawing more attention to that person or causing unwelcome interaction with their followers.
(The phrase “He Who Must Not Be Named” is frequently used in lieu of Voldemort’s name, which is forbidden, in allusion to the character from the Harry Potter books.)
TFG is sometimes used to allude to Trump with a distinct connotation in mind, most frequently one in which the letter F stands for a different word.