We’re really rounding the turn
Posted: September 7, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, rounding the corner, Trump, turning the corner, words 7 CommentsAnother trumpafor. Trump uttered this one at a recent news conference, discussing the coronavirus. Here is the text:
“We’re really rounding the turn. The vaccines are coming. The therapeutics have already come but they’re continuing to come,” Trump said of the coronavirus.
This is a congruent conflation of “rounding the corner”, “turning the corner”, and “rounding the bend”, all meaning to begin to find success after a troubling period. A big thanks to Fred Martin and Sam Edelmann for both hearing this one.
Malaphors 
Couldn’t this be a horse race expression? Rounding the (last) turn before the home stretch ? Happy Labor Day. Linda
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I thought that as well, but the horse race expression always has a word in front, like clubhouse or in your example “last”. I think it’s a bona fide malaphor. Also Trump the next day said rounded the corner so perhaps his minions are malaphor followers….
Thank you for pointing this out! I am surprised that so many have accepted Trump’s phrase without comment. I thought he was mixing up “around the corner” (as in “nearby” e.g. the 7-11 is around the corner) and “turning the corner”. “Turning the tide” would have been OK too. But his consistent use of “rounding the turn” has been driving me around the bend!
If you are rounding a turn isn’t that same as going in a circle?
Good one!
No matter how this Trumpfian Phrase is described, the USA has not made much progress in containing the Covid-45 Virus (named after the point of origin, ‘Precedent’ Trumpf’s White House). The ‘malaphor’ is appropriate for Trumpf to use as he is going in circles ’rounding the turn.’
(BTW, Trumpf is the correct spelling of his name in Bavaria, Germany. Half my ancestors originally migrated from there and were familiar with the various Trumpf families.)
I thought it was Drumpf (see John Oliver show on HBO).