Brad Parscale, the digital director of Donald Trump’s campaign, could have picked a lot of different metaphors to describe the uncertainty of the 2016 election. Here’s the one he chose:
“It’s like predicting your wife’s mood,” said Parscale. “You have no idea what you’re going to get until you get home.”
He made the comparison in a recent Bloomberg Businessweek article focused on Trump’s chances of winning Florida.
It was an interesting choice of words for an official representing a candidate who, on many occasions, has been accused of misogyny. Most recently, Trump faced multiple allegations of sexual assault (which he has denied) and backlash over his remarks on the Access Hollywood tape. The Republican nominee’s entire candidacy has been marked by repeated charges of sexism over his comments about women’s looks, abortion, sexual harassment, and other subjects.
While Parscale’s quote was tucked at the very end of the Businessweek article, that didn’t stop readers from spotting it. Twitter users were quick to mock the retrograde nature of his comments—and to point out the questionable strategy of offending women voters less than 48 hours before election day:
What if your wife gets home after you because it's not 1955? https://t.co/4uueS6t7BE
— Geoffrey Skelley (@geoffreyvs) November 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/PeterGleick/status/795648394622472192
The metaphor of someone who thinks his wife's mood is some kind of mystery box, rather than a set of rational reactions. https://t.co/ZLAlB0D7HR
— Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox) November 7, 2016
How to insult an entire voting bloc:Trump surrogate compares unpredictability of voter turnout to ‘your wife’s mood’ https://t.co/QFEJg8kXhE
— Rachel Nagler (@rachel_nagler) November 7, 2016
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