Going Out Like Stan Chera

About

Going Out Like Stan Chera is a quote reportedly said by former President Donald Trump during his October 2020 bout with COVID-19. According to reports, Trump repeatedly asked those around him if he was "going out like Stan Chera," referring to the real estate mogul Stan Chera who went into a coma and died earlier that year due to the coronavirus. Since the quote was published in late 2020, it has often been used as a catchphrase on Twitter to comment on things that are perceived to be near death.

Origin

On October 3rd, 2020, Vanity Fair columnist Gabriel Sherman^[1] reported that while the White House was publicly offering optimism about Donald and Melania Trump testing positive for COVID-19, the situation was more "dire" behind closed doors. Sherman reported that Trump was repeatedly asking aides if he was "going out like Stan Chera," a real estate mogul and friend of his who had passed away earlier that year from COVID.

Spread

Over the following few days, many on social media voiced that they found the quote humorous and began making parodies and memes with it.

For example, on October 3rd, 2020, Twitter / X user @joolsd^[2] posted that it would make a good like in a Trump biopic, gaining over 70 likes in three and a half years (shown below, top). That same day, Twitter user @mrmikeyreid^[3] joked that they'd use it if their tweets were bombing, gaining over 90 likes in the same timeframe (shown below, bottom).

The catchphrase remained a meme on Twitter over the following four years. On August 25th, 2021, Twitter user @Chinchillazllla^[4] joked that they used the phrase if they started feeling like they might have COVID to feel better, gaining over 300 likes in three years (shown below, top).

On March 22nd, 2022, Twitter user @MandelaFace^[5] joked about Hillary Clinton contracting COVID with the phrase "Pokémon Go out like Stan Chera" (a reference to her highly memed quote "Pokemon GO to the Polls"), gaining over 70 likes in two years (shown below, bottom).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References