#RedditTheDonald documents r/The_Donald, the controversial pro-Trump subreddit (2015-2020) that reached 790K+ members, shaped 2016 election discourse, and became case study in platform moderation after Reddit quarantined then banned it for policy violations.
Rise & 2016 Election
Created June 2015 when Trump announced candidacy, r/The_Donald started as meme-heavy Trump fan club. The subreddit exploded during 2016 primaries—combining Trump support, alt-right memes, conspiracy theories, and aggressive anti-Clinton sentiment. Members called themselves “centipedes” (from Trump YouTube videos), posted Pepe variations, and pushed “God Emperor Trump” worship ironically-then-not. T_D regularly hit r/all (Reddit’s front page), dominating site during election season. The community influenced Trump campaign strategy and provided grassroots organizing.
Algorithm Manipulation & Reddit Conflict
T_D members aggressively upvoted posts to dominate r/all, prompting Reddit to change algorithms. The subreddit accused Reddit CEO Steve Huffman of bias after he admitted editing T_D users’ comments (2016). T_D mods enforced strict pro-Trump orthodoxy, banning dissent immediately. The community became increasingly extreme—racist posts, calls for violence against protestors, conspiracy theories (Pizzagate, Seth Rich). Reddit struggled balancing free speech principles with platform safety.
Quarantine & Ban
In June 2019, Reddit quarantined T_D (making it harder to access) for violent threats against Oregon police. Quarantine devastated traffic. Mods and users migrated to independent website thedonald.win. In June 2020, Reddit banned T_D during massive subreddit purge for continued policy violations. However, the community had mostly already migrated. The hashtag preserved T_D’s role in 2016 election and precedent for banning political communities.