President Donald Trump made the bizarre claim at a speech Tuesday night that people need to have a photo ID to buy groceries — which, of course, isn't true.
"You know, if you go out and you want to buy groceries — you need a picture on a card," he said. "You need an ID."
He made the remarks while arguing for voter ID laws, which the Republican Party has used in recent years for de facto voter suppression. Trump was trying to suggest that we user photo IDs in all aspects of life.
But as this reporter can personally attest, an ID is not required to buy groceries.
Of course, anybody, including politicians, can say something silly or mistaken while in the midst of a speech. But it's worth noting, as ThinkProgress founder Judd Legum pointed out, Trump gets treated very differently when it comes to these kinds of misstatements.
"Before Trump, this would be a defining gaffe that would hound him for years," Legum noted on Twitter.
Indeed, Vice President Dan Quayle is still remembered for misspelling the word "potato." And politicians around the world are frequently grilled on the price of common grocery items, trying to prove that they are attuned to the public's needs.
The fact that few media outlets are likely to pick up on this story shows that Trump really does follow a different set of rules. You're unlikely to see any op-ed columns tomorrow arguing that Trump's gaffe reveals he's not in touch with the common man or woman because he doesn't do his own grocery shopping. Trump will not be criticized as an "elite."
Watch video below:
Shares