Donald Trump is the white elephant in the room

William Cohen, who served as both a Republican U.S. Representative as well as a U.S Senator and Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton, said this malaphor on the MSNBC show The Beat with Ari Melber on October 23, nine days ago. It is a mashup of “elephant in the room” (obvious truth that is either being ignored or going unaddressed) and “white elephant” (a burdensome possession whose costs outweigh its value). While I have posted this one before (September 6, 2012), it is too good to pass up.

 “The elephant in the room” seems to be a common expression mix-up.  For example, I have posted:

“It’s the 800 pound elephant in the room”  https://malaphors.com/2015/03/30/its-the-800-pound-elephant-in-the-room/

“I think that’s the pink elephant in the room” https://malaphors.com/2013/08/07/i-think-thats-the-pink-elephant-in-the-room/

In fact, I have a separate section devoted to the “elephant malaphor” in my book, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205

A big thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in!