Bleachgate is the archetype of a Trump media cycle

Do CNN reporters really believe that the average Trump supporter is someone who needs to be told not to drink bleach?

Bleach.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

We all remember the old saw. Your mom asks you why you did something and you respond that your friend or cousin thought it was a good idea. To which Mom gamely replies, "Would you jump off a bridge if Michael told you to do it? Okay then, don't shoot BB guns at Neighbor Dick's window. It doesn't matter if he's on vacation."

Mom, as usual, was right. Which brings me to some words that I never thought I would end up typing, not even under this administration: Donald J. Trump, the president of the United States, did not in fact implore the American people to drink bleach during a press conference last Friday. He made a stupid comment, something he is wont to do in the best of circumstances and from which he has not refrained during the current pandemic.

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Matthew Walther

Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.