When thought bubbles grow up and enter the public discourse they are called brain farts; those ideas or concepts that are floated informally by a politician, often without much detail or commitment. For the sake of keeping the censors happy I’ll refer to them not as brain farts, but as “unhinged soundbites”. To be a ‘genuine’ unhinged soundbite it needs to be outlandish, outrageous, utterly bizarre, unrealistic, off the planet even. We all have our favourite practitioners. Here are mine, with some enlightening examples of their words of wisdom:
Donald Trump
Injecting disinfectant to treat COVID-19: During a press briefing, Trump mused about using disinfectants inside the body to combat the coronavirus, saying, “I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute… Is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?” He later claimed it was sarcastic, but the suggestion stunned medical experts and prompted warnings against such dangerous ideas.
Bleach injection for health: Alongside the disinfectant idea, Trump speculated about UV light or bleach as internal treatments, asking, “Suppose we hit the body with a tremendous… ultraviolet or just very powerful light?” It’s another health-related idea that veered into the absurd and risky.
Nuking hurricanes: Trump reportedly asked aides multiple times why the U.S. couldn’t drop nuclear bombs into hurricanes to stop them, an idea he allegedly raised during briefings. He later denied it, but sources like Axios and former officials confirmed he’d floated it, showcasing a wild misunderstanding of weather systems and nuclear consequences. This one ranks high on the unhinged soundbites scale. Where on earth do thought bubbles like that come from?
Buying Greenland: Trump suggested the U.S. should purchase Greenland from Denmark for strategic and economic reasons, calling it “essentially a big real estate deal.” He even tweeted a photoshopped image of a Trump Tower on the island. Denmark’s prime minister called it “absurd,” as do I. Typically, the idea reflected Trump’s penchant for grandiose territorial pitches.
Building a wall with a moat and alligators: According to a Vox report, Trump privately proposed fortifying his border wall with a water-filled trench stocked with snakes or alligators. He also floated ideas like electrifying the wall or adding spikes, painting a cartoonishly extreme picture of border security that aides struggled to take seriously.
What sort of mind turns thought bubbles that crazy into unhinged soundbites?
Canada as the 51st state: During a meeting with then Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, Trump quipped that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state to avoid trade tariffs. While likely a negotiating tactic, the offhand remark about annexing a sovereign nation stirred diplomatic waves and fits his pattern of provocative, boundary-pushing ideas.
Renaming the Gulf of Mexico: After his 2024 election win Trump suggested rebranding the Gulf of Mexico – possibly as “Trump Gulf” or something similar – during a victory speech tangent. While not a formal policy, it’s the kind of self-aggrandizing brainstorm that’s become a hallmark of his rhetoric.
Reversing California’s coastal “faucet”: Trump claimed California could solve its water shortages by reversing a nonexistent “giant faucet” on the coast that supposedly dumps freshwater into the Pacific. He’s repeated variations of this, baffling experts who note no such infrastructure exists – it’s a garbled take on water management issues. Definitely a gem, this one.
Owning Gaza: Trump reckons that the U.S. could “own” Gaza as part of a Middle East strategy, saying, “We’ll own it, it’ll be ours.” Lacking specifics, it’s unclear if he meant militarily or economically, but it’s a striking example of his off-the-cuff territorial musings. Given he wants to turn it into a Middle-East Riviera, suggests the economic tilt.
Rake the forests: He suggested that California and Finland rake their forest floors to prevent wildfires. He argued that clearing debris like leaves and branches – based on a misinterpretation of forest management – would reduce fire risks.
Those examples stand out for their mix of impracticality, lack of grounding in reality, and Trump’s casual confidence in tossing them out. They’re often less formal policies than spontaneous brainstorms – some serious, some half-joking – that grab the attention he craves. Maybe that’s why his thought bubbles grow into unhinged soundbites; he’s attention-seeking.
Nonetheless, I find it hard to comprehend that the devout MAGA brigade cheer on his unhinged soundbites and probably marvel how they began life as thought bubbles.
Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott demonstrated that he lacked the tendency to speak before fully thinking things through. Here are my favourite Abbott unhinged soundbites:
Knights and Dames Revival: Abbott reintroduced imperial honours, announcing Australia would again award knighthoods and damehoods – starting with Prince Philip. The move baffled many, reviving a colonial relic in a modern republic-leaning nation. Widely mocked as out-of-touch (especially the Philip pick), it fueled perceptions of Abbott as a monarchist dreamer and contributed to his political downfall.
Shirtfronting Vladimir Putin: Ahead of the G20 summit, he vowed to “shirtfront” Putin over the MH17 disaster – using an AFL term for a chest-to-chest confrontation. The mental image of Abbott physically challenging a global strongman was absurd, and while he later toned it down to a “robust discussion,” it cemented his reputation for brash, impractical bravado.
Peter Dutton
Dutton has a history of floating ideas that i could easily label an “unhinged soundbites” – speculative, often controversial proposals. Here is his most outlandish one, and typically, divisive in nature:
Port Arthur protest comparison: In a speech Dutton likened a pro-Palestinian rally at the Sydney Opera House to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, suggesting both threatened Australia’s “civilisation.” The exaggerated parallel – comparing a protest to a mass murder – was shameless fearmongering, lacking logic or proportion.
George W. Bush
Living with fish: Probably my all-time favourite and at this stage worthy of the “Unhinged soundbite of the century”. It’s one I cannot find enough superlatives for so I’ll just leave you with this:
References
Coronavirus: Outcry after Trump suggests injecting disinfectant as treatment, The BBC
Trump’s Comment on Disinfectant Prompts Experts to Warn Against Inhaling Bleach to Kill Coronavirus, Kristen V. Brown and Justin Sink, Time
Scoop: Trump suggested nuking hurricanes to stop them from hitting U.S., Jonathan Swan and Margaret Talev, Axios
On Trump’s interest in Greenland, iNEWS
Trump wanted to shoot migrants and build a wall guarded by alligators and flesh-piercing spikes, Nicole Narea, Vox
Trump keeps talking about making Canada the 51st state. Is he serious?, Ivan Pereira, ABC News
Trump’s ‘Gulf of America’ Order Has Mapmakers Completely Lost, Wired
Trump Keeps Urging California to Turn on Its Giant ‘Faucet’, Jim Carlton, The Wall Street Journal
Trump’s Gaza ‘plan’: What it is, why it’s unworkable and globally rejected, Al Jazeera
Make America Rake Again: Finland baffled by Trump’s forest fire raking claim, Martin Belam, The Guardian.
Trump blames California for wildfires, tells state ‘you gotta clean your floors’, Jeremy B. White, Politico
How giving Prince Philip a knighthood left Australia’s PM fighting for survival, Michael Safi, The Guardian
“I should have done more than shirtfront him”: Tony Abbott on Putin following the shooting down of MH17, ABC Listen
Dutton compares pro-Palestine protest to Port Arthur massacre, The New Daily
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Brain Farts is a much better description.
Trust me, Bert, I would have preferred to use that.
Nonetheless, I reckon “unhinged soundbites” was rather creative. I also entertained “poli-thought vomit”, “rhetorical flights of fancy” and “word salad balloons”.
Interesting thing with Dutton’s brain farts is that even his own party recognises them as such.
He is writing Labor’s campaign strategy. Libs have released an anti nuclear campaign ad
Even Miceala what her name is talking down the dual citizen referendum thought.
Oh joy, looks like with the Libs help we will get another Labor government.