Donald Trump first used Little Rocket Man for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in September 2017, in a post and then in his address to the United Nations General Assembly. The nickname referenced Elton John's 1972 song Rocket Man while mocking North Korea's missile tests. It spread quickly through news clips, late night parodies and meme edits, becoming one of the most quoted insults of Trump's presidency. The phrase later softened as the two leaders met in 2018, but the original clip remains a shorthand for their early rivalry.