The Conversation (0)
Sanjana Varghese
Aug 15, 2020
This week, Trump refused to disavow a racist conspiracy theory, implied he should get the Nobel Peace Prize and tried to figure out if he could change the legal definition of shower heads in the US. So, just another week for him!
Here are seven of the most ridiculous things that Trump has said just this past week.
He refused to disavow racist conspiracy theories about Kamala Harris
Joe Biden announced that Kamala Harris was his pick for Vice President (and running mate) – which prompted some people to bring up racist conspiracy theories about whether or not she would even be eligible for the office.
Much like Trump’s birther conspiracy theory from the Obama presidency, this was about casting doubt on a person of colour – despite the fact that Harris, like Obama, was born in the US and so would be eligible for office. But when Trump was asked about it by a reporter earlier this week, he just said he didn’t know and would have to look into it.
He threatened to reduce funding for USPS because of mail-in voting
Trump has been spreading misinformation about mail-in voting for the 2020 elections for months now – with Twitter even putting fact-checks on some of his more misleading tweets.
In a press conference this week, Trump confirmed that he was withholding aid for Covid-19 for states that have been particularly badly hit because he was trying to put pressure on the Democrats over mail-in voting.
He complained about his hair so much that he’s trying to change shower regulations
Trump said this week that he wants to change regulations around shower heads in the US because he wants to have perfect hair. He said, "So shower heads – you take a shower, the water doesn't come out. You want to wash your hands, the water doesn't come out. So what do you do? You just stand there longer or you take a shower longer? Because my hair – I don't know about you, but it has to be perfect. Perfect," he said.
Now, his administration has proposed changing the definition of a shower head to allow increased water flow. Obviously, some of Trump’s hair issues can’t be solved with a more strenuous water flow.
He denied asking how to fix the face of Mount Rushmore
It was reported last week that Trump had asked prominent senators how to add a face to Mount Rushmore – which he then denied this week, saying that it was “fake news” from CNN. The New York Times first reported that the White House had reached out to the governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, about having his face added to the monument.
It’s also blatantly untrue that this isn’t something Trump has considered before – he even suggested it himself in 2017, in a rally in Ohio.
He said Harris was one of the 'meanest' senators
He also spoke about Kamala Harris at length in press conferences this week, saying that she was one of the “meanest” senators and that she had even been “disrespectful” and “nasty” to Joe Biden.
Harris has previously criticised Biden, particularly when she was also a presidential hopeful but has since said that she is looking forward to working with him. It’s a little surprising that Trump would think saying something mean about Biden was disqualifying, given that he’s been calling Joe “Sleepy Joe” for months now.
Trump + suburban housewives
He sent a very bizarre tweet about suburban wives voting for him over Joe Biden, making a racist and classist statement about “low income” housing “invading” their neighbouhoods. He also brought up Cory Booker, who was once a Democatic presidential hopeful, and said that he was unpopular (Booker is a Black man and a Senator for New Jersey).
7. He retweeted a tweet suggesting he should be given the Nobel Peace Prize
On Twitter, someone suggested that Trump should receive a Nobel Peace Prize for a historic Israel-UAE peace deal which was announced earlier this week. The agreement was brokered by the Trump administration for the UAE to establish full normalisation of relations with Israel, in return for Israel forgoing any annexation of the West Bank at the moment.
It has been hailed as a significant event, and Trump seems to be intent on taking credit for it. He retweeted Mike Cernovich, a well known Trump superfan.
And there you have it, just one week in the life of Trump...