WASHINGTON — In the era of President Donald Trump, during his campaign for the presidency and nearly two years as commander in chief, many Republicans and conservatives have adopted a new ethos: own the libs at all costs.
The expression to "own the libs" is a often used as a tongue-in-cheek criticism of obscure but increasingly common right-wing tactics ranging from upending GOP orthodoxy on policy, to throwing your own expensive coffee machine out the window in protest of an ad boycott, to wearing diapers during a campus demonstration.
It simply means that Republicans enjoy to a great degree, sometimes even more than actual policy achievements, opportunities to make Democrats and liberals feel bad or face plant. The conservatives who like to own the libs do it because it feels good and it's funny.
Owning the libs has come into full effect in 2018. Most recently, Attorney General Jeff Sessions chuckled and mimicked part of the "lock her up!" chant directed at Hillary Clinton during a speech to high-school-aged conservatives.
The phrase also drew the attention of US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
"Raise your hand if you've ever posted anything online to quote-unquote 'own the libs,'" Haley asked the teenage students attending the same conference as Sessions.
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-owning-the-libs-became-the-ethos-of-the-right-2018-7
