It’s been pushed under the rug

In the 6/21/22 edition of the New York Times, a woman was being asked her opinion about whether we are paying enough attention to the issue of race. She said “I don’t think we’re paying too much attention. I think it’s always been pushed under the rug.” This is a congruent conflation of “pushed aside” and “swept/brushed under the rug/carpet”, both meaning to ignore or disregard something.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/06/21/opinion/focus-group-biden-moderates.html. It turns out that one of the candidates for senator in Georgia has also said it: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/herschel_walker_266259. And a “real housewife of New Jersey”: https://www.realitytea.com/2022/06/06/margaret-josephs-push-under-rug/. “Push” and “brush” sound and look alike, possibly creating the malaphor.

A big thanks to Barry Eigen for spotting this one and sending it in (instead of pushing it under the rug).