If you woke up, perplexed, to find the word "soup" trending on Twitter, we're right there with you. And no, it's not because pumpkin spice-lovers are excited about having soup this fall — it's just another chapter in the never ending list of Confusing Things Trump Has Said.
Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s interview on Fox News with Laura Ingraham during which he generalized protestors as violent anarchists hellbent on assaulting police officers, a video clip from July resurfaced of Trump claiming that protestors’ new weapon of choice is...a can of soup. He argued that these cans — and sometimes bags — of soup were more dangerous than bricks, because, apparently, if protestors were caught with them, they could feign innocence.
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“And then they have cans of soup. And they throw the cans of soup. That’s better than a brick because you can’t throw a brick. It’s too heavy,” said Trump. “But a can of soup, you can really put some power into that, right? And then when they get caught, they say, ‘No, this is soup for my family.’ They’re so innocent. This is soup for my family.”
But wait, there's more: Trump didn’t stop at cans of soup. He then mentioned bags of soup, because it doesn’t matter what container the alphabet soup may come in, they all spell anarchy in Trump’s mind.
“And you have people coming over with bags of soup — big bags of soup. And they lay it on the ground, and the anarchists take it and they start throwing it at our cops, at our police,” Trump continued. “And if it hits you, that’s worse than a brick because that’s got force...And then the media says, ‘This is just soup. These people are very, very innocent. They’re innocent people. These are just protesters. Isn’t it wonderful to allow protesting?' No.”
Watch this without laughing.
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) September 1, 2020
It’s not possible.
He’s the President of the Untied States of America... pic.twitter.com/UofWPJLiju
Though his soup comment originally slipped under the radar, like any good soup, it reheats well later. Trump originally stewed over soup while in a meeting with the National Association of Police Organizations Leadership in July, but the footage is making the rounds on Twitter likely in an attempt by the collective consciousness of the internet to blow off some steam, but it also reminds us all – yet again – that Trump needs no prompting to spread conspiratorial theories to anyone who will listen.
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But alas, the soup puns came in at full force, and are certainly not to be missed:
Ah, yes. The ol' "soup for my family" canard. Classic bit. https://t.co/rvGjKccasq
— Maggie Serota (@maggieserota) September 1, 2020
I stopped carrying mace yrs ago. I now carry a can of Progresso cream of mushroom soup to defend myself. It packs a whollop. https://t.co/lyqWmxZSyz
— BiCoastal Elitist (@Carmen50) September 1, 2020
Trump is the dark, gritty reboot of the Soup Nazi American didn't need https://t.co/ceVTvyygyn
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) September 1, 2020
I found director of the ANTIFA https://t.co/2sx5yaVLR5 pic.twitter.com/9IDrS6pMe4
— Comfortably Numb (@YGalanter) September 1, 2020
In light of Trump's alarming Tuesday interview, the reprieve was welcomed, though doesn't really negate some of his other outlandish clips. While speaking to Fox News, Trump made sweeping allegations against protestors, this time specifically calling out demonstrations in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Portland, Oregon.
“Portland has been burning for years. For decades, it’s been burning, but now it’s gotten to a point they don’t want to,” Trump falsely claimed before adding that protestors were determined to either burn down or blow up the city’s federal courthouse. He was quick to separate pro-Trump protestors from his wholesale condemnation. He also floated the conspiracy theory that his opponent in the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden, was secretly controlled by a plane full of people “in the dark shadows.”
Where Trump actually got the idea that protestors are throwing cans – or bags – or soup is unclear, but for those who are heading to the streets to protest police violence, leave your Campbell's chicken noodle can at home, I guess. But maybe cans of Goya beans would be better?