“Savannah slow down” is a quote from a TODAY Show interview with former Trump political aide Omarosa Manigault Newman in 2018. She was promoting her tell-all book about former President Donald Trump and refused to tolerate rapid-fire questions from host Savannah Guthrie, stopping to tell her to “slow down” so that all queries could be answered.
“Savannah, slow down,” she said. “I’m gonna answer your question, don’t worry. I’m here, I’ve got all the time you need. You don’t have to ask 10 questions in one second, it’s okay.”
The first three words from this quote reached meme status years later after TikTok discovered the interview.
Who is Omarosa Manigault Newman?
Omarosa Manigault Newman, best known simply as Omarosa, is a former political aide who worked in the White House under both Trump and Bill Clinton. She is also a published writer and reality TV star.
Political nerds likely know her from the publishing of her book Unhinged in August 2018 as well as the release of several tapes of recordings within the White House. The text documented her time under Trump and severely criticized the administration while accusing the former President of using the N-word repeatedly while filming The Apprentice.
Omarosa appeared in seasons one and seven of The Apprentice, which is how she was originally exposed to Trump. The network later invited her to compete on the spin-off series Celebrity Apprentice, and in 2010 she collaborated with Trump to create the reality dating show The Ultimate Merger.
What made Omarosa say ‘Savannah slow down’?
During the TODAY Show interview in 2018, Omarosa was going over many of the allegations and criticisms made in Unhinged with Guthrie. At one point, Omarosa repeated analyst findings that Trump had been lying thousands of times per year during his presidency, and Guthrie cut her off in the middle of an answer to a question.
@onarealnotepod Omarosa controlled the interview without breaking a sweat 💀 #realitytv #fypシ #omarosa #donaldtrump #realitytvclips #theapprentice #todayshow #funny ♬ original sound – On a Real Note Podcast
“Have you known that he is a liar, as you say?” Guthrie asked.
Omarosa responded in the affirmative, but before she could elaborate, Guthrie cut her off to ask why she worked for Trump during his time in the White House. The author smiled and dropped the quote that would become a meme six years later.
TikTok spawns the ‘Savannah slow down’ meme
On June 7, 2023, TikTok user @onarealnotepod uploaded a compilation of Omarosa moments from that interview starting with the “Savannah, slow down” bit. However, it wasn’t until July 2024 that the quote, along with the two questions posed by Guthrie, became a sound for a lip-sync meme on the platform.
On July 27 of that year, user @legionmoments posted a similar video to the previous one, and shortly thereafter people began to use “Savannah slow down” as a meme.
@legionmoments Omarosa effortlessly cleared all of them without breaking a sweat 🤣💀 • • • #realitytv #fypシ #omarosa #donaldtrump #realitytvclips #wendywilliams #wendyshow #fyp #kenyamoore #theapprentice #todayshow #funny ♬ original sound – Legionmoments
Most of the time, people utilize it to express a desire for others to chill out or cool off when they’re getting intense about a sensitive topic or when they’re asking questions that make a point that the meme poster doesn’t want to hear.
The meme began to spread to Twitter and other social media platforms in September.
Examples
@stephanielizabeth08 what do you mean i can’t have my sweet treat? #sweet #sweettreats #relatable ♬ original sound – Legionmoments
@monicaxvee Because that clearly is NOT the issue. #savannahslowdown #fypシ゚viral #shoppingaddict ♬ original sound – Legionmoments
@niekarichard #savannahslowdown #trendingsound #teachersoftiktok ♬ original sound – Legionmoments
@bonnieleetoks Woah woah woah! #savannahslowdown ♬ original sound – Legionmoments
@thejayebooker SLOW DOWN SAVANNAH🙄 #selfcare #trending #imjustagirl ♬ original sound – Legionmoments
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