Meaning of the phrase "womp womp" in American English?

I'm British, I'd like some assistance understanding the meaning of the American idiom "womp womp" in this context:

PETKANAS: “I read today about a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome who was taken from her mother and put in a cage…”

LEWANDOWSKI: “Womp womp.”

PETKANAS: “Did you just say ‘womp womp’ to a 10-year-old with Down syndrome being taken from her mother? How dare you?”

Source: Washington Post, Corey ‘Womp-Womp’ Lewandowski invited back on Fox News for more nonsense, 20 June 2018

I've found these posts which seem to be related:

• Fail trumpet onomatopoeia

• Is there an idiom or typical expression for an unfunny joke?

They refer to the trombone "womp womp womp womp" noise as shown in this video, which is also used here in the UK to indicate a joke has fallen flat - the allusion (as I understand it) is to the music played by a circus band after a clown does a pratfall.

I don't understand it in the context it's being used above; there does not seem to be a joke being made, so it can't that a joke has fallen flat. It seems to be a different meaning, but I'm not clear what that meaning is.

What meaning is the speaker trying to convey?

Thanks.

(I also wondered if it was the Family Fortunes "that's the wrong answer" buzzer noise, but that doesn't seem sensible in context either, and it's not so much of a "womp womp" noise as a "rrrr rrrr").

Solution 1:

Womp womp is an onomatopaeic approximation of a brief, chromatically descending trombone phrase dating from the days of Vaudeville theater indicating either mock sympathy for the victim of a slapstick stunt or a joke or anecdote which the audience failed to find humorous:

Sometimes referred to as “sad trombone,” “loser horns,” or, more technically, “chromatic descending ‘wah,’” this sound effect dates back to early 1900s vaudeville. It was carried over into radio and then television.

The opposite, still used, say, in late night talk shows with a live band, is a brief roll on a snare drum for a well received joke, comment, or anecdote where energetic laughter isn’t the expected response. “Loser horn” comes from its use in game shows, such as The Price is Right. It is also frequently used in the animated series Archer.There, it’s usually used to mock a character’s complaint about something or to make light of some expression of self-pity.

It is usually vocalized with /w/ followed by a nasalized vowel, either /ɑ̃/ or /ɔ̃/, and may or may not be terminated with the unvoiced bilabial stop /p/. However pronounced, it does not rhyme with romp, but you’d have better luck with French champs.

I won’t begin to guess what Lewandowsky meant, but you can tell by the shocked, enraged response how it was received.

Solution 2:

When I first read about the alleged joke, I charitably assumed that it meant, “What an embarrassing mistake by the agency. They sure failed this time.” While that is an alternative possible meaning of womp-womp, it is not, according to Lewandowski himself, what he meant.

In his words, “I mocked a liberal who attempted to politicize children as opposed to discussing the real issue [....]”¹ He saw a difference between callousness to a small, mentally-disabled child from another country who had just been separated from her mother and locked in a cage with strangers, and mocking anyone who cared about her story, which he thought was a distraction from “the real issue.” Most other commenters, including Petkanas, did not.

¹ Although a political fact-check would be beyond the scope of this site, be aware that some other claims in the tweet are false.

Solution 3:

It is an expression that maps to somewhere on the spectrum between casual sympathy to straight mockery over inconveniences.

Example for casual sympathy:

Ben: "Steve overwrote my changes, so I need to re-add them."

Dan: "Womp womp. That's no bueno."

It can also be used reflexively.

Jessica: "Oh no, I spilled milk all over the floor. Womp womp!"

Example for mockery:

Albert accidentally drops his hot dog in the camp fire

Jeff seeing Albert drop his hot dog: "Womp womp! What a klutz!"

It can be used reflexively for mockery also.

KarlG mentioned the cartoon Archer, and I agree that that's a good source to get a feel for how the expression is used. If I could remember specific episodes, I would post them here.

Solution 4:

I think this definition by UD explains its usage:

Womp!

• A lighthearted reaction upon receiving disappointing news of some sort. Usually something that isn't a particularly a big deal, esp. when it primarily affects someone else - sort of a mild schadenfreude. Sometimes doubled or tripled, and possibly said in a sing-songy voice for added comedic effect to imitate a muted trumpet, which is how the meme originated.