It’s just a waste of exercise

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was trying to work with members of his administration who were inherited from the previous Mayor’s administration, but became frustrated and said “it’s just a waste of exercise”. This is a congruent conflation of “it’s a waste of time” and “an exercise in futility”, both meaning an action or behavior that has no chance of being successful. You can read the malaphor here: 

Source:
https://www.wbez.org/city-hall/2025/02/11/mayor-brandon-johnson-warns-staff-shakeup-coming-clean-house-administration-holdovers-lightfoot-guidice?subscription=true&DE=

A big thank to Peter H. for spotting this one!