Coined in 2020, “sanewashing” has recently become a hot term among media critics who think that coverage of some of Donald Trump’s speeches ignores his more outlandish remarks.
The term came back into the spotlight last month after the former president delivered a particularly incoherent answer at the Economic Club of New York. After one member asked Trump a very specific question about the rising cost of child care, the Republican presidential candidate responded with a two-minute rant about tariffs, the deficit and fraud.
Yet The New York Times chose to cover Trump’s comments this way, headlining their piece on the event, “Trump Calls for an Efficiency Commission, an Idea Pushed by Elon Musk.” The Times’ deliberate choice to lead with that detail and only mention the former president’s incoherence briefly in the article drew sharp criticism from media pundits.
On Tuesday, Vance took that same “sanewashing” approach to the debate stage in New York. When pressed by the moderators about Trump calling climate change a “hoax,” for example, Vance deflected. Instead of answering yes or no, Vance tried to “interpret” for Trump. The fact is, Trump has said rising sea levels means “a little more beachfront property” and suggested the noise from wind power “causes cancer.” Vance can’t wash those comments away.
Ryan Teague Beckwith is a newsletter editor for MS NOW.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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