An idiom that’s been around for some time — ‘funny as a crutch’ — means that something is “not funny or amusing at all,” according to The Free Dictionary.
“In California, you have a special mask. You cannot under any circumstances take it off. You have to eat through the mask,” said President Trump, quippingly, during a campaign rally in Arizona, according The Wrap.
As COVID cases nationwide are increasing by 80,000 or so per day, joking about face masks perhaps seems about as funny as a crutch?
There’s another idiom — ‘putting lipstick on a pig’ — meaning, in The Free Dictionary, a “superficial or cosmetic change to something so that it seems more attractive, appealing, or successful than it really is.” The president, and others in his orbit, are touting the 33.1% boost in the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) reported recently, while apparently omitting what’s being reported in Forbes and other media… that as a result of “huge losses earlier this year, the third-quarter number is proportionately huge — and misleading — because of how far the economy had fallen.”
And while we’re on idioms, here’s another one — ‘What a kick in the pants!’ — which, when said sarcastically, can suggest that “something is a source of pleasure or enjoyment” when, actually, it is not. People attempting to squeeze PR spin into interviews with reporters… that really bugs me! Perhaps because, after trying that, myself, when I was in PR, I realized it didn’t work very well. As they say in baseball, that’s bush-league!
So, what a kick in the pants, seeing folks in high places straining to get messages out in the media.
That seemed to be what Peter Navarro, the Trump administration’s Director of Trade, was attempting to do, while discussing the economy with NBC News Senior Business Correspondent Stephanie Ruhle. Especially when he worked into the conversation Mr. Trump’s own name for COVID, calling it the ‘China virus,’ and blaming the nation’s economic woes on it by that name. But this time, perhaps unfortunately for Mr. Navarro, Ms. Ruhle — apparently, seeing through the spin — called the virus by its real name… the coronavirus.
While the coronavirus most definitely is a factor in the nation’s economic malaise, Trump administration trade policies and trade wars may be factors, as well. And, perhaps, that’s why the Director of Trade, Mr. Navarro, seems to be squeezing out ‘China virus,’ whenever he can.
Harvey Radin is former senior vice president in charge of corporate communications and media relations, Bank of America Western Region. He makes his home in Redwood City, CA.