People of Pittsburgh, forgive Donald Trump — he's so busy affixing his name to buildings, tweeting every thought that comes into his head, and painting things gold that he missed the news in 2012 that Joe Paterno died.
Trump is known to make off-the-cuff statements, and on Wednesday, his strategy backfired when he asked a crowd in Pittsburgh how Paterno, the former head coach of the Penn State football team, was doing. Reporters at the event say the crowd was confused and didn't know how to respond, largely due to the fact that Paterno famously died right after he was famously let go as a result of the infamous child abuse scandal that rocked the football program.
In addition to asking about the welfare of a dead man, Trump asked, "Are we going to bring that back? How about that whole deal?" so it's certainly possible that he did hear the news that Paterno was fired, but not that he died from lung cancer two months later. Who wants to break it to Trump that Breaking Bad is finished, the country has moved on from "Gangnam Style," and Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries are over?
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revoltSpeed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich throwerSpeed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodusSpeed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official saysSpeed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judgesSpeed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policingSpeed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa CookSpeed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportationSpeed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
