Donald Trump’s Old Barney Frank Tweet Resurfaces After Politician’s Death
"Very very disrespectful."
Updated May 21 2026, 11:09 a.m. ET
Former Congressman Barney Frank is being remembered for his decades-long political career and advocacy work after news broke that he died at the age of 86. The longtime Massachusetts Democrat reportedly died on May 19, and tributes quickly began pouring in across social media and political circles.
As conversations about Frank’s legacy spread online, many people also resurfaced an old Donald Trump tweet criticizing the former lawmaker’s appearance during a speech before Congress.
Barney Frank’s cause of death was congestive heart failure.
According to reports from outlets including CBS News, Frank died after dealing with congestive heart failure. In the weeks before his death, the former congressman reportedly spent time in hospice care at his home in Maine while continuing to speak publicly about politics and current events.
Before his passing, Frank gave several interviews discussing the future of liberal democracy and Donald Trump’s political movement. In one interview with Politico, he reportedly admitted that one of his regrets was not being able to witness what he described as the “continued implosion” of Trump. Frank also spoke critically about Trump during an interview with WBUR, where he described the president as an “idiot savant” and accused him of exploiting public anger for political success.
“As to Trump, I have developed my theory about him: It's not just that he's bad on all these values, but he is an idiot savant,” Frank said. “He has just one talent: an ability to exploit anger that got him into power. But having gotten into power, he's got nothing left, and that's why now he's just floundering.”
Donald Trump once mocked Barney Frank’s appearance on social media.
After Frank’s death was announced, social media users resurfaced a 2011 tweet Donald Trump posted about the former congressman. At the time, Trump criticized Frank’s appearance during a speech on the House floor. “Barney Frank looked disgusting--nipples protruding--in his blue shirt before Congress,” Trump wrote in the post. “Very very disrespectful.”
According to reports from the time, Frank had been wearing an oversized blue sweater because his hand was bandaged following surgery, making it difficult to properly wear his jacket during the speech. The resurfaced tweet sparked renewed conversation online about Trump and Frank’s long-running political feud. Although Frank occasionally agreed with Trump on certain NATO spending issues, he frequently criticized the president’s policies and leadership style in later years.
Barney Frank became one of the most influential openly gay politicians in the U.S.
Frank served in Congress from 1981 until 2013 and became one of the first openly gay members of Congress after publicly coming out in 1987. He later married his husband, Jim Ready, in 2012. The longtime lawmaker was also known for helping craft the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation following the 2008 financial crisis. Throughout his career, Frank became a major voice within the Democratic Party on banking reform, LGBTQ+ rights, and progressive politics.
Following news of his death, many politicians, journalists, and social media users reflected on his influence in Congress and his role in LGBTQ+ political history.