"Straightforward From Here"

About

"Straightforward From Here" refers to a series of jokes on Twitter made in mockery of a tweet by CNN political commentator Sally Kohn. The tweet purported to outline how to make Hillary Clinton the president following a report from The New York Times that officials on President Donald Trump's campaign team had been in contact with Russian intelligence a year prior to the 2016 United States Presidential Election. The jokes were made in parody of the outlandish and difficult nature of Kohn's supposedly "straightforward" 5-step plan.

Origin

On February 14th, 2017, The New York Times^[1] reported that Donald Trump's campaign had been in contact with Russian intelligence officials a year prior to the election. While American intelligence officials had found no evidence that Trump's team had actively cooperated in the 2016 Presidential Election Hack, the report nevertheless raised alarms, particularly after the resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn following reports that he had been in contact with Russians.

The morning after the New York Times article was published, CNN political commentator tweeted a 5-step plan to putting Hillary Clinton in office (shown below).

Spread

Immediately following Kohn's tweet, Twitter users both on the left and the right began criticizing it for the steps it suggests as being straightforward (i.e., impeaching two presidents, calling for an unprecedented special election). After the criticism, many parodies of the tweet^[2] emerged mocking its format. The spread of the jokes were covered that morning by New York Magazine^[3] and Daily Caller.^[4] Kohn later tweeted^[5] that her "straightforward" plan was intended sarcastically.

Various Examples

Search Interest

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External References