He is exerting his thumb

On the Andrea Mitchell Reports show on MSNBC, Mitchell asked United States Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) whether he thought Trump was exerting pressure on Republican senators regarding the bipartisan border bill. Senator Bennet, probably already thinking of Mitchell’s “exerting pressure” words, responded that he thought Trump was “exerting his thumb” to change the mind of Mitch McConnell. This is a mashup of “exerting pressure/influence” (producing a desired effect) and “under (one’s) thumb” (under another’s control). Definitely not twiddling his thumbs. Props to Beatrice Zablocki (“my ol’ pal”) for hearing this one and sending it in!