We need a holiday update version of this quiz. And maybe future others until Trump is removed from office.
2
The distractors are too easy!
Got them all except the Charlottesville one. Maybe they should put up a statue of Trump there, next to Robert E. Lee, so we could remove them together.
2
Too easy !!! Sad !
2
This was too easy. Trump is so horrid.
5
I missed 5. That's a spectacular thing to say since the only way half of it makes sense will negate the other half.
**14/14** Gail, your challenge was not so tough since I too earned 1,300 merit badges. They go so well with my sceptre and tiara and Italian high heels.
3
Sadly, I am with Jab and Jeff. I remember it all and ended up with 14 out of 14.
5
Thank you Gail. With a 13/14 I guess I could have paid slightly more attention, but honestly the best thing about the quiz with its disturbing, implicit commentary is that it made me laugh. I am really surprised that I could find this amusing, because each event left me at first shocked and ultimately numb. The events were not really comical, but given the sad state of affairs nationally coupled with all of the natural disasters the country is dealing with, it is just a relief to be able to smile at this.
9
I also had a temporary lapse. 13/14. But in my defense, the Tom Brady answer sounded so Trumpian.
4
Sadly, I remember everything . . . .
13
I got all 14 answers right. Clearly I'm spending too much time reading about Donald Trump. He does have a talent, though, for making each new stupid remark or action more outrageous than the last one. It's like watching a traffic accident that never seems to stop. It's impossible not to pay attention.
14
92.8 % rounded up to 93 gives me an A, right? That's because I went to better schools than he did.
Dear Gail, Please keep your sense of humor. We need it desperately.
Dear Gail, Please keep your sense of humor. We need it desperately.
11
13 out of 14. I had a momentary lapse of rationality.
6
Yes, Gail, we're paying attention. But are you? "He" stared at the eclipse, straight into it, with no ocular protection - and suffered no negative effects whatsoever. Doesn't this signify anything about the "person" who got elected President?
Klaatu Barada Nikto.....
Klaatu Barada Nikto.....
4
Since I've been straining to pay less attention to wonder prez this summer I got two wrong by thinking the correct answers were too Trumpy. The quiz is a reminder that you can't burlesque a burlesque or parody someone who is a self-parody.
6
Easy Peazy Perfect Score.
2
We all did well because the slow motion train wreck is so compelling that you cannot turn away--like a pit full of snakes.
2
OK, only 11 out of 14. Trump is even dumber than I realized.
Stared into the sun without protective glasses? Jez!
Stared into the sun without protective glasses? Jez!
1
Fictional? Don't you mean fictitious?
I got one wrong believe the right answer was to unbelieveable.
1
My 2 cents: Stay tuned. No doubt we have much more crazy stuff to get through with this goofus. ... Thanks for the memories.
I also am oddly embarrassed to have gotten all 14 questions right, even the one that I didn't know for sure but had to guess at. Embarrassed, because although I have been a political junkie at least since the age of 14 (yes, when Triceriatops still roamed the prairies), I should really not feel compelled to pay such close attention, as a means of psychic survival. Just as a sanity check, this is the twelfth year of the current administration, right? It sure seems like it.
3
Sadly, I could give this quiz to a Trump supporter and he would just say, "the fake news has it in for Trump."
7
I got 13 out of the 14 right. I missed the eclipse one. Did he really look at it without glasses? I didn't choose that one because no one in his right mind would do that. I know he's dumb, but that dumb?
4
Perfect score...there should be a prize for us with perfect scores; how about bottles of 12 mg. Melatonin + Valerian capsules? They would be better for our livers than distilled spirits.
I think I need to pay more attention to my garden.
I think I need to pay more attention to my garden.
5
My perfect score on this quiz alarms me.
8
I'm ashamed to say that I almost always score 100% on Gail's Trump quizzes, and rarely get above 60% on the Times's weekly international events quiz.
That really doesn't say anything good about me or the Zeitgeist.
That really doesn't say anything good about me or the Zeitgeist.
8
I got two wrong: one because I deemed the correct answer too ludicrous, even for Trump; the second because I couldn't imagine even a partially-sentient being saying something so stupid. Wait, those are the same reasons. Oh well.
22
14/14. What's sad is that even the goofiest wrong answers are entirely plausible with this clown.
14
Hey, I got 13 out of 14. And I'm a Canadian! But then I read the NY Times on line so I have a pretty good idea of what's happening south of the border.
6
Does anyone like this new page format? Is it user friendly? I find it a real pain to use, it looks like it was designed by some 20 year old recent graduate from a web deign school.
The editors seem to think we need pictures instead of having to read the articles. Trying to find the most recent columns is an exercise in futility. All these do is load op your computer with a lot of meaningless graphics.
The editorial department should be ashamed to put this kind of junk out. Send complaints to "nytimes, public "
This is an u=insult to those of us who still know how to read. Notice they do not give you the email addresses of the editors, and the ones the do give contacts for are tweets. no all of us have a twitter account nor do we want one.
The editors seem to think we need pictures instead of having to read the articles. Trying to find the most recent columns is an exercise in futility. All these do is load op your computer with a lot of meaningless graphics.
The editorial department should be ashamed to put this kind of junk out. Send complaints to "nytimes, public "
This is an u=insult to those of us who still know how to read. Notice they do not give you the email addresses of the editors, and the ones the do give contacts for are tweets. no all of us have a twitter account nor do we want one.
9
I agree!
2
I clicked on "opt out" before I commented. Sorry about that, as I wanted to point out that the new format is way too single issue oriented. That said, the old format allows more easy choices.
2
I agree. Give us back the old format. I opted out, but now seem to have it.
2
14/14
Oh. Dear.
Oh. Dear.
5
Not hard to get 14 out of 14. When in doubt go for the most stupid answer.
21
My online feed does not include the answers. Are they in the paper edition? At any rate, I think I got all of them right by choosing the dumbest answers.
2
Ha ha, the only one I missed was number 2. I actually thought of the right answer first, but I just couldn't believe even he would say something so blatantly egotistical.
4
I wish I DIDN'T know the answer to all of these...sad
9
Ms. Collins, I love your column and am glad you're back. But I despair. What seems so glaringly obvious to me and most of the NYT readership seems to go over the head of Trump supporters. Denial? Paranoia? Blind faith?
They seem like a cult, willing to follow their leader even if it kills them. I think NYT should do a study of the similarities between Trump supporters and cult followers, and how those who leave cults were able to realize their mistake and escape.
They seem like a cult, willing to follow their leader even if it kills them. I think NYT should do a study of the similarities between Trump supporters and cult followers, and how those who leave cults were able to realize their mistake and escape.
6
i feel very sad that i got all of these right. i need a life.
5
Yesterday my husband and I were venting our outrage at Trump's decision to end DACA in front of our 10-year old. She asked "How is he such a bad president? Would you be a better president?" Absolutely we would be better presidents. "Would I be a better president?" Yes, she would. My 10-year old daughter would be a better president because she knows that she doesn't know everything, has an open and curious mind, and more importantly, already has a set of moral values to guide her.
6
I am saddened by my score, 14 out of 14. My memory is being trumpetized. That is not healthy.
3
Sad.
All you have to do is choose the most obnoxious, self-obsessed, or irrelevant answer. 14 out of 14!
All you have to do is choose the most obnoxious, self-obsessed, or irrelevant answer. 14 out of 14!
12
The fact that I got a few wrong made me feel better because I thought I was reading too much on Trump. Seriously, he mentioned he had a home in Charlottesville while giving a speech on the tragedy of that weekend ? You can't make this up.
9
Home of the Trump Winery, where they apparently have been unable to find unskilled American laborers to trim the vines, requiring importation of foreign workers under the H2-A temporary visa program. But the president supposedly has nothing to do with it, the winery and hotel is in the capable (?) hands of son Eric, when he isn't diverting funds from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
8
I wonder if Obama has fully grasped the reality that for eternity his image in U.S. History textbooks will be sandwiched between Bush 43 and Trump. It's Sartre's No Exit come true.
10
Pick the most immature, self-absorbed, creepy or inappropriate response and you have the essence of his presidency.
17
Wow. 13 out of 14, but I'm disappointed in myself for having forgotten the "60 pound bag of drugs" idiocy. Could the Incredible Hulk - or even King Kong - throw a 60 pound bag over a (1) 20 foot (2) 30 foot (3) 60 foot high wall?
(It was a downer when the campaign concluded before the wall grew to a 66 story - for which read "56" - height. I'd so hoped...)
If Melania had chosen instead to wear a tres chic ensemble from Ivanka's commercial collection, I'd have missed that one too. Paris? How...gauchely provincial these days. Paris outfits are SO '80s! (And '20s.)
If the comment about Monsieur Macron's wife had been: "What a great bod! If I weren't a married man I'd grab you by the...", that would've been my selection.
But aside from all that, a fair and entertaining quiz :-)
(It was a downer when the campaign concluded before the wall grew to a 66 story - for which read "56" - height. I'd so hoped...)
If Melania had chosen instead to wear a tres chic ensemble from Ivanka's commercial collection, I'd have missed that one too. Paris? How...gauchely provincial these days. Paris outfits are SO '80s! (And '20s.)
If the comment about Monsieur Macron's wife had been: "What a great bod! If I weren't a married man I'd grab you by the...", that would've been my selection.
But aside from all that, a fair and entertaining quiz :-)
4
au secours, au secours! Je suis gauche derriere ...
3
#5, the transparent wall, still makes me laugh out loud whenever I think of it. This summer my Canadian sister flat out would not believe me about Mr. Trump's statement until her husband backed me up. She thought I was either making it up or badly misinformed. My brother-in-law had the last, best laugh. I was laughing that the whole scenario with the falling bag of drugs landing on someone's head sounded like a Roadrunner cartoon... and he remarked, "they're not called 'coyotes' for nothing.'"
13
13 out of 14! I'll bet DREAMers can do better.
3
I was sad to score so highly on this quiz. I picked the most ridiculous answers possible, and they turned out to be right. Ah, well, this seems to be how it is going to go until the 2020 elections--the most ridiculous possibilities, all the time, every day.
12
Well, the office of the president has taken on too much importance in recent decades, so I guess Trump is doing his best to devalue the position.
3
100% which means I need a vacation with no internet available.
26
14 out of 14 and I am Canadian. Oy Vey. Following American news much too closely. OR this was a seriously easy quiz -just choose the dumbest remark. Unfortunately, I easily knew the answers without having to guess. Sad.
15
Thank you Gail Collins. The sheer humor of some of your proposed answers left me in a good enough mood to overlook the fact that I got only one answer wrong...( I didn't know Americans were in danger of getting hit in the head with 60lb. bags of drugs by the wall).
Anyway, thanks for the laugh.
I need to get a life...
Anyway, thanks for the laugh.
I need to get a life...
13
This was a frightening reminder of how big a moron our current President is. Sad.
19
That does it I'm through with Trump. I got 14 out of 14 correct. No one should be that stupid.
14
I had to guess at one question and got it wrong because even I couldn't believe Trump would be so stupid as to say something so inane. Obviously, I was wrong.
Seeing all these things listed in one place had an overwhelming effect. What the heck have we done?!?
Seeing all these things listed in one place had an overwhelming effect. What the heck have we done?!?
15
I had one wrong; thought Trump wouldn't be so callous to comment on Mrs Macron's booty, foolish me.
5
Sadly, I scored 100%. I remembered every one of his rude, obnoxious comments.
12
Me too. I'm really trying to ignore the news when its about the White House &/or Trump but its impossible since he gets so much coverage with his idiocy.
4
I know this is too often said to the point of being hackneyed but in this case bears repeating. You couldn't make this stuff up, nobody would believe it.
16
13 out of 14. And I live in Canada for goodness sake.
6
My score was 13 out of 14.
But I don't really think Trump cares, or perhaps even remembers, what he says.
However, he makes my brain hurt trying to follow what he means. And maybe that is his goal.
One of our kids' first grade teachers told me at a teacher conference that there are 2 kinds of people: those who get easily stressed, and those who like to stress others. Trump seems to fit the latter category to a pathological extent.
Trump may be crazy and dangerous, but in my book, the Republicans who aid and abet his reign and allow all this damage to occur to our country are even worse.
But I don't really think Trump cares, or perhaps even remembers, what he says.
However, he makes my brain hurt trying to follow what he means. And maybe that is his goal.
One of our kids' first grade teachers told me at a teacher conference that there are 2 kinds of people: those who get easily stressed, and those who like to stress others. Trump seems to fit the latter category to a pathological extent.
Trump may be crazy and dangerous, but in my book, the Republicans who aid and abet his reign and allow all this damage to occur to our country are even worse.
19
Looks as if many of us are saying the same thing. We could do quite well even if we did not know exactly what took place in each of the settings mentioned. We know our Pres so well that we can in effect predict what he will say in any given situation.
The right answers do not show, unfortunately, that he is ready to be impeached but they sure show he has no business being president.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
The right answers do not show, unfortunately, that he is ready to be impeached but they sure show he has no business being president.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
11
14/14. Although I don't want to, I have to keep paying attention. It's exhausting!
14
I looked at the quiz and picked out the most outrageous answers when I didn't know the answer. I regret the fact that in each case I was correct.
I have one question however, when can we dub Donald Trump Knight of the Biggest Lie?
I have one question however, when can we dub Donald Trump Knight of the Biggest Lie?
20
Yep. Pick the least attractive or dumbest (staring into the sun?) thing available, and that's our president, laughingstock of the world.
It's much too early to award Knight of the Biggest Lie; the prime candidate is just getting warmed up. Give him time to hit his stride.
It's much too early to award Knight of the Biggest Lie; the prime candidate is just getting warmed up. Give him time to hit his stride.
10
A mashup: "The knight who says nyuk nyuk?"
1
Grade inflation or we all need to get a life...
10
14/14. Even if I had not known the answers, it's too easy anymore. Just pick the answer with the first person singular pronoun or the most offensive answer.
44
I am the best test taker in the world. Nobody takes tests the way I do. Next, I'm going to take another test about how great civilizations decline. I'm going to get those all right too. No one is as great as I am.
114
On a day when all the news is bad, you made me laugh, out loud. Really. Hard.
2
I really doubt Trump would get more than 2 or 3 right, if that.
I honestly didn't believe that even The Donald couldn't have suggested that we needed a transparent wall along the Mexican border because Americans need to avoid being hit on the head by 60-pound bags of drugs. What was I thinking???
27
too easy
12
It is so hard to find humor associated with, wait a minute, macabre humor abounds from the White House every day. Nonetheless, that photo will be there forever. That seems to me the most unnerving of all of the gruesome memories that will remain after he's gone.
9
OK, this one was a gimme. (I did flip a coin on the New Hampshire question, and lost.) But at least I'm above 90% this time. Will these quizzes never cease?
Gail is beginning to remind me of one my high school math teachers, Miss Smith, minus the moustache and the "sensible" shoes that bore more than a passing resemblance to the boots the Army shod me in in 1968.
Gail is beginning to remind me of one my high school math teachers, Miss Smith, minus the moustache and the "sensible" shoes that bore more than a passing resemblance to the boots the Army shod me in in 1968.
You know how textbook publishers like to break up long sections of text with insert boxes that have some interesting/involving/interactive information for students?
Perhaps history textbook authors might want to include Gail's 2017 "Back-to-School Quiz" as an insert in the chapter on the Trump administration (2016-??). The quiz manages to convey Trump's so-called thinking and the truly bizarre focus of his presidency. Also, it would give future generations of students some idea of what Trump put this country through during his (hopefully very short) reign.
An accompany essay question comes to mind: Trace the history of the Republican Party from the days of Abraham Lincoln to Donald J. Trump, and explain how the party of Lincoln went from endorsing anti-slavery to embracing white supremacy.
But first, let's ask the Republicans.
Perhaps history textbook authors might want to include Gail's 2017 "Back-to-School Quiz" as an insert in the chapter on the Trump administration (2016-??). The quiz manages to convey Trump's so-called thinking and the truly bizarre focus of his presidency. Also, it would give future generations of students some idea of what Trump put this country through during his (hopefully very short) reign.
An accompany essay question comes to mind: Trace the history of the Republican Party from the days of Abraham Lincoln to Donald J. Trump, and explain how the party of Lincoln went from endorsing anti-slavery to embracing white supremacy.
But first, let's ask the Republicans.
19
14/14. I don't know which is more frightening, the incidents, or my knowing about them.
13
14/14 for me. One upside, and perhaps the only one, of the Trump administration for me is that I've never been better informed about politics and current events as I am today.
13
13/14. I didn't know about the Brigitte Macron comment. I'd probably be much happier and less stressed had I received a 0.
7
Trump didn't stare at the sun without protective glasses--he glanced at it. I hate that I have to defend him on this, but it makes the media look truly biased with such an exaggeration.
2
Also 14/14, and I have almost completely shut out TV and radio news (hearing Trump's voice ruins a day like little else). Gail, next time quiz us on sensible things that are happening in government. There has to be something, somewhere. Right?
4
I received 14/14 by often choosing an improbable answer. An improbable president who seemingly brags about the size of the Hurricanes during his reign.
9
Bonus question: What is the latest reading on the Doomsday Clock?
It's at two and a half minutes to midnight.
"Rise of nationalism, United States President Donald Trump's comments over nuclear weapons, the threat of a renewed arms race between the U.S. and Russia, and the expressed disbelief in the scientific consensus over climate change by the Trump Administration. This is the first use of a fraction in the time, and the Clock's closest approach to midnight since 1953."
- Wikipedia
It's at two and a half minutes to midnight.
"Rise of nationalism, United States President Donald Trump's comments over nuclear weapons, the threat of a renewed arms race between the U.S. and Russia, and the expressed disbelief in the scientific consensus over climate change by the Trump Administration. This is the first use of a fraction in the time, and the Clock's closest approach to midnight since 1953."
- Wikipedia
8
Scored 13 out of 14.
Missed # 7 - Chose « Have we ever had a more urgent need for unity"
Coming from the Grifter, sounded quite foolish so decided it was the right answer. I was wrong.
Missed # 7 - Chose « Have we ever had a more urgent need for unity"
Coming from the Grifter, sounded quite foolish so decided it was the right answer. I was wrong.
6
14 out of 14 - When should I expect my Canadian Citizenship?
11
Sarah Sanders: "95% of what the President says is not a lie." So, all those dot-dot-dots are true.
8
13/14 - how depressing. Hint for those who have not really been paying attention (a group of which I sorely wish I were a member of): Pick the most ridiculous answer - it worked pretty well for me.
6
Dismal 14 of 14, without reading all options. I don't want this stuff in my brain. What junk have I been absorbing while thinking it's news coverage?
8
14/14, ran the table.
6
A perfect 14! Yay! Oh, maybe not anything to "Yay!" about. Sad.
8
Hey Ms. Collins. I got all 14 answers right. Does that get me a scholarship to the president's university?
15
I am ashamed to admit 13 of 14 correct.
Surely, I must have better things to do than read about what's-his-name.
Surely, I must have better things to do than read about what's-his-name.
5
Well, Ms. Collins, my only incorrect answer was No. 5. I foolishly chose the choice about "transparency" because I seem to remember that Donald Trump promised a lot of things and that a fluid, efficient government was one of them. Silly me.
I keep waking up every morning thinking that this presidency is a joke but it's just a living, breathing nightmare. "I was a better student than they were." I don't see how an ignorant man was ever a good student. No literate person spells "heeling" in reference to restoration. It might be instructive for us to see his transcripts from the Wharton School of Business. I'd like to know what he actually "studied." After all, Sean Hannity at Fake News and his ideological soul-mate Rush Limbaugh over at Hate Radio Network have bayed at the moon for the transcripts of Barack Obama's Columbia and Harvard University transcripts. The obvious point is, of course, "how could a black man have a quality education when, you know, they're incapable of learning?"
But Donald Trump's entire raison d'être is to reverse every Obama-era directive or policy. It's a kind of Make America White Again manifesto that he continues, on a daily basis, to make very clear to us--as if it were unmistakable--that President Barack Obama never happened.
And Melania was styling "a dress from Italy" as her husband extolled the virtues of the American worker? Well, it's all of a piece to anyone who's been paying the least bit of attention.
But "sixty-pound bag of drugs?"
I keep waking up every morning thinking that this presidency is a joke but it's just a living, breathing nightmare. "I was a better student than they were." I don't see how an ignorant man was ever a good student. No literate person spells "heeling" in reference to restoration. It might be instructive for us to see his transcripts from the Wharton School of Business. I'd like to know what he actually "studied." After all, Sean Hannity at Fake News and his ideological soul-mate Rush Limbaugh over at Hate Radio Network have bayed at the moon for the transcripts of Barack Obama's Columbia and Harvard University transcripts. The obvious point is, of course, "how could a black man have a quality education when, you know, they're incapable of learning?"
But Donald Trump's entire raison d'être is to reverse every Obama-era directive or policy. It's a kind of Make America White Again manifesto that he continues, on a daily basis, to make very clear to us--as if it were unmistakable--that President Barack Obama never happened.
And Melania was styling "a dress from Italy" as her husband extolled the virtues of the American worker? Well, it's all of a piece to anyone who's been paying the least bit of attention.
But "sixty-pound bag of drugs?"
13
You're not alone -- that's the only one that tripped me up as well, and for the same reason: Sixty-pound bags???
5
@sox:
The president's misspelling of "heeling" was a subconscious reference to what he is really doing to make America great again.
The president's misspelling of "heeling" was a subconscious reference to what he is really doing to make America great again.
7
Hey guys, just remember that Steve King of Iowa inspired him by speaking of mythical "Mexicans with calves the size of canteloupes from hauling bales of drugs."
It is an easy progression from hauling the bales to fliging them over the wall.
I think getting bonked by flying bales of dope is now training for getting concussed in the NoFunLeague.
It is an easy progression from hauling the bales to fliging them over the wall.
I think getting bonked by flying bales of dope is now training for getting concussed in the NoFunLeague.
4
Oops, 13 out of 14---I must be slipping!
3
Oh deal Gail, Trump is the clown that keeps on giving. He is comedian's dream. It is too bad he is also the president on the most powerful nation on earth. Our history will be forever tarnished when we come to the number 45. Like Major League Baseball stats, there should be an asterisk next to Trump's name. He is and hopefully will be like no other.
DD
Manhattan
DD
Manhattan
9
Too easy.
Just pick the most preposterous answer and you get an 'A+'.
Just pick the most preposterous answer and you get an 'A+'.
4
Continue to marvel at how some of the correct answers to Gail's quizzes are more outrageous and ridiculous than the silly and unbelievable alternative answers she comes up with.....
I chuckle and whince at the same time which is a strange but regular occurence in these crazy days....
I chuckle and whince at the same time which is a strange but regular occurence in these crazy days....
6
I laughed reading this, but in the end felt rather sad. My perfect score proves that, despite my best efforts, I've been paying way too much attention to this dolt, and it has become well-nigh impossible to screen out the idiocy and craziness.
7
First time I have ever been unhappy about getting an A
9
That was the easiest quiz you've ever popped, Gail!
I knew most of the answers already but the guess amounted to picking the craziest and most narcissistic ones! 100%.
I knew most of the answers already but the guess amounted to picking the craziest and most narcissistic ones! 100%.
5
I got them all right...now I need to use the emergency shower in the nuclear power plant, a la Karen Silkwood...
4
I got 13 out of 14. I didn't know Trump bragged about owning a house in Charlottesville. Knowing it doesn't improve my opinion of him.
6
Sadly, I got them all right....even if I had not known the answers, all I would have had to do was pic the most outrageous answer. A very "SAD" statement to have to make about a person who occupies the office of the 'Leader of the wolrd's strongest nation'. He is killing us!
6
100% score. Are you giving prizes to the winners, dear Gail Collins? You know how Trump loves winners... Now we turn our attention to the assault Mother Nature may have in store for Florida. We, on the southeast coast of this state, are hunkering down, preparing for Irma, the dire "I" storm - like Donald Trump - and praying for safety during the hurricane.
7
Somehow, the consistency of the idiocy has begun to lull me into a semblance of hope. Anything this funny has to be redemptive.
3
Only 12 out of 14.
I thought his wife was wearing a nose ring made in America!
I incorrectly believed that he believed, "spouse" was French for "Trump Steaks".
I thought his wife was wearing a nose ring made in America!
I incorrectly believed that he believed, "spouse" was French for "Trump Steaks".
5
Another great column!
2
I did very well. I just hope we don't get used to this knucklehead.
5
Once again, too easy. 14/14. You could ace it without knowing a thing. Simply pick the most tasteless, most ignorant, most boorish, most offensive response every time.
5
13 out of 14. I need to get a life.
2
Oh, boy. Perfect score. Well, no surprise there. Time to renew my prescription......
7
14 out of 14? Losers! I got 3 million on this quiz - the highest score EVER.
8
For the few questions I did not know, I just picked the dumbest answer. Score? 100%.
6
Such an easy quiz, Gail. Just pick the most ridiculous answers.
3
Sadly I got all of them. Watching Trump is the closest thing to watching OJ in the white Bronco on TV back in the day.
10
Got all 14.
This was easy. Simply select the most idiotic non-sequitur.
How on earth did this ignorant jerk ever become president?
America is toast.
This was easy. Simply select the most idiotic non-sequitur.
How on earth did this ignorant jerk ever become president?
America is toast.
8
All 14 correct. I'm ashamed of myself. Even if I hadn't known an answer, I would know to select the most outrageous, inappropriate, intemperate, self-aggrandizing, immature, and ignorant answer. I love your quizzes, Gail, but Trump sucks all the humor out of them. I look forward to a time when we can afford to laugh again.
5
In my Pacific Northwest sojourn, it's become increasingly clear that summer is not "so totally gone", as ashes from forest fires to my north, south and east rain down covering cars and lawn furniture, and a full moon, when you can see it, appears a bright orange through the haze and the air temperature remains in the mid-70s at 3:00 AM. Obviously, summer has a bit more road to travel before the five trees in the entire region that aren't evergreens begin shedding their leaves.
15 of 14. Chuck Schumer is expressing dismay, because ...
A) Wall Street is becoming increasingly impatient with him and may cease funding his re-election efforts.
B) Trump is cutting deals with him -- he wonders when he'll start cutting deals with Republicans, and for what.
C) There hasn't been a major story in quite some time about Russian cahooting. Mueller may have been a mistake, or maybe the DNC needs to take some of his family hostage.
16 of 14. Hillary has a new book out, it takes Bernie to task, and ...
A) We now have excuses #s 36,542 - 37,136 for why she lost the election.
B) We still don't know all that was in those emails she erased, but we can bet that they were tasty.
C) Bill has pedestrian taste in women. (Uh ... wait a minute.)
17 of 14. We haven't heard much yet about FEMA and Harvey, because ...
A) "Brownie" is back.
B) Those who are "doing the greatest job ever" don't need to toot their own horns.
C) We're still counting our Harvey dead, even as we prepare for Irma.
15 of 14. Chuck Schumer is expressing dismay, because ...
A) Wall Street is becoming increasingly impatient with him and may cease funding his re-election efforts.
B) Trump is cutting deals with him -- he wonders when he'll start cutting deals with Republicans, and for what.
C) There hasn't been a major story in quite some time about Russian cahooting. Mueller may have been a mistake, or maybe the DNC needs to take some of his family hostage.
16 of 14. Hillary has a new book out, it takes Bernie to task, and ...
A) We now have excuses #s 36,542 - 37,136 for why she lost the election.
B) We still don't know all that was in those emails she erased, but we can bet that they were tasty.
C) Bill has pedestrian taste in women. (Uh ... wait a minute.)
17 of 14. We haven't heard much yet about FEMA and Harvey, because ...
A) "Brownie" is back.
B) Those who are "doing the greatest job ever" don't need to toot their own horns.
C) We're still counting our Harvey dead, even as we prepare for Irma.
This is the best that I have ever done on any of your quizzes, Gail. I only got the one about Pres. Macron's wife wrong. That's the good news. The bad news is that it means that I have no life.
Actually, to pass, just pick the most absurd answer. Hey, it's Trump.
And after another chug of coffee, I had the horrible vision of students in the future actually having to learn about this perverse presidency. Can't we for once do like the old Soviets used to do and expunge some of our history? It'll be a little more difficult if Trump is in there for eight years. A young student might skeptically ask his or her teacher, "Ms. Jones, you said we were going to study the presidents, but you missed 2016-2024."
Actually, to pass, just pick the most absurd answer. Hey, it's Trump.
And after another chug of coffee, I had the horrible vision of students in the future actually having to learn about this perverse presidency. Can't we for once do like the old Soviets used to do and expunge some of our history? It'll be a little more difficult if Trump is in there for eight years. A young student might skeptically ask his or her teacher, "Ms. Jones, you said we were going to study the presidents, but you missed 2016-2024."
42
Ha, just like Trotsky taken out of old photographs!
14/14, and this is even considering the fact that I've had more than double the workload the last twelve weeks because of people being away from the office. I now know where my priorities were this summer.
12
It saddened me that I could get mostly correct answers without actually reading the clues...
17
Well, I got 14 out of 14.
Sad.
It's like a car wreck -- I just can't look away. Every day I wake up, I immediately look at the NYTimes, to make sure we're still here.
I don't know if I can take this, even with your wonderful commentary to help me cope Ms. Collins? After all, it's still 1,230 days until Trump leaves office:
https://howlonguntiltrumpleaves.com/
Sad.
It's like a car wreck -- I just can't look away. Every day I wake up, I immediately look at the NYTimes, to make sure we're still here.
I don't know if I can take this, even with your wonderful commentary to help me cope Ms. Collins? After all, it's still 1,230 days until Trump leaves office:
https://howlonguntiltrumpleaves.com/
118
Perhaps not.
2
Since Trump seems not to be able to retain much of anything I'd love to see him take the quiz. No way he'd get them all right. Maybe one of his minions could get it to him and get back to us.
47
Yes, Ms. Collins, summer is totally gone, and so is going steady/courtship relationship between the president and the GOP. The president and Democrats teamed up to keep the government open until December and also raise the debt ceiling. Now, the Democrats are "Chuck and Nancy", which must certainly make Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan seethe with resentment and unrequited love. The GOP has been spurned by a faithless president to whom loyalty means nothing.
It's still late summer, Ms. Collins, but chilly weather is already upon the Republican party. The president took the GOP back to school yesterday, especially an embarrassed and gelded treasury secretary who pushed for a 2019 of the debt limit. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have hit the Republican party leadership full force.
It's still late summer, Ms. Collins, but chilly weather is already upon the Republican party. The president took the GOP back to school yesterday, especially an embarrassed and gelded treasury secretary who pushed for a 2019 of the debt limit. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have hit the Republican party leadership full force.
21
What's the old saying about an ill wind?
Here's hoping that everyone in the path of this truly indescribable storm comes through safely. Take care. Good luck and safe harbor to all.
Here's hoping that everyone in the path of this truly indescribable storm comes through safely. Take care. Good luck and safe harbor to all.
6
Like many others, I'm sure, I got them all. But then I went back to look at the answers...are we living in a Kurt Vonnegut novel? Can this possibly be reality?
99
Vonnegut? Heller? How about "A Confederacy of Dunces?"
5
There's only one answer for every Trump question:
Malicious mischief.
The good news is that the GOP is following him over the cliff.
Malicious mischief.
The good news is that the GOP is following him over the cliff.
15
Yeah, but not fast enough!
3
The truly frightening thing about this quiz is that even the absurd answers can -- and very often are -- the right answers.
45
I scored 11/14, which is not too bad for an Aussie.
My method? Simply assume Trump said or did the dumbest thing on the list of suggestions.
My method? Simply assume Trump said or did the dumbest thing on the list of suggestions.
86
I got 12 out of 14, but does anyone remember the original question ?
1. When are the tax returns going to be released ?
2. Was there collusion with Russia to steal an election
3. Will the President's children be deported now that DACA is ending ?
Answer truthfully.
1. When are the tax returns going to be released ?
2. Was there collusion with Russia to steal an election
3. Will the President's children be deported now that DACA is ending ?
Answer truthfully.
36
Finally, a perfect score. Thank you, Gail, for not lobbing something tough at us.
For instance: How much did Ivanka Trump expect every dutiful American citizen - even real students - to spend on her Chinese-made junk for the perfect back-to-school look?
For instance: How much did Ivanka Trump expect every dutiful American citizen - even real students - to spend on her Chinese-made junk for the perfect back-to-school look?
16
Perfect score here, but then again, I'm a glutton for punishment and Trump news fits the bill nicely.
Kudos to Gail Collins. I'd think it difficult to satirize one whose actions seem to already be a parody of normal human behavior, but she manages nonetheless.
Kudos to Gail Collins. I'd think it difficult to satirize one whose actions seem to already be a parody of normal human behavior, but she manages nonetheless.
23
14 out of 14. I spend too much time on Trump idiocy.
10
By the time I got to #3, I thought, "the country's gone whackadoodle."
34
For what it's worth, the planets rotate about their axes, they revolve around the Sun.
15
(and guns called "revolvers" are really "rotators" -- if you think about it)
4
I follow the news, so I got an A+ on the quiz. A hint to those who have been too busy to keep up: pick the most ridiculous answer; it's likely to be the right one.
11
I too answered correctly on every single one.
Don't know if I should be proud of that or not.
Don't know if I should be proud of that or not.
13
Back in those school days, I recall a few quizzes where I laughed and sadly a few more when I cried while taking them. This quiz? While earning a 12 of 14 (really, 60 lbs. of drugs and he said that to Mrs. Macron?) - I laughed and cried due to the horror and stupidity of POTUS 45. Today I swore I'd take a news day off, but after reading a novel for an hour, I had to take a look...I am glad I did as it is essential to find balance and humor to get through the next 1230 days.
10
Fun quiz as usual, but it's missing the cheeky affirmation at the end based on my score. I got a 14/14 and should have had something like "I'm sorry to say you have followed the Trump administration closely, please be careful to follow the dosage of your depression medication carefully and take long walks."
44
Geeze, I didn't even have to think - I really knew all the answers. I am of course way too addicted and need some intervention.
27
Would impeachment qualify as an intervention?
5
Somehow I found it very depressing to have gotten all these answers right. They were the ones I would have picked under any previous presidency to be absurd.
17
The fact that Donald Trump's visage will be forever emblazoned on whatever monument is built to honor our Presidents. The fact that books, classes and timelines will note that Barack Obama's presidency was followed by the likes of this man, tells me that my distrust in the American people's decision making will not end with Trump passing into history, just that my disappointment will remain historic.
18
Got 14 out of 14. Wondering if I should be paying more attention to my cats. Or my housecleaning. Or my job.
31
Ugh. I got 14 out of 14. Gale's quizzes are the only ones that make me sad when I ace them. So sad...
22
14/14. (That I still have all this stuff floating around in my brain can't be good.)
16
13 correct. I am clearly paying too much attention. Homeland Security one tripped me up.
7
Dear Ms. Collins, this is a cruel way to begin this cold September morning and naturally I flunked this 'Going Back to School Quiz' on the trials and tribulations of the Don who loudly navigates the Swamp. Since I never take the blame for anything, this dim mark on my part with this latest test is due to a lacuna of coffee made in Ethiopia, or Colombia.
When Mr. Otter visits next to 'Mend Fences' with wood made in (?), we are going to sit for an hour and watch his favorite news program on Fox 5. He had a brief 'falling-out' with Glenn Beck but this might be temporary, and he is sounding morose over poor Trump.
'Blow your Trumpet because Nobody will blow it for you', is a motto a life mentor used to tell me, and I am sorry when this sentence resurfaces. Nobody from another country is telling this American that We are on a ship of fools. They are worried because they care not only about US, but how this is going to impact on them. India has moved closer to China, Africa is also under its industrious wing, and here we remain trapped in The Big American Hamster Wheel where some of US are holding on to Our Dreamers.
The Trump Era will be remembered historically, and it is the young and bright minds among us with a solid head on their shoulders, who will set an example of how We took America back from a man unfit to be President.
When Mr. Otter visits next to 'Mend Fences' with wood made in (?), we are going to sit for an hour and watch his favorite news program on Fox 5. He had a brief 'falling-out' with Glenn Beck but this might be temporary, and he is sounding morose over poor Trump.
'Blow your Trumpet because Nobody will blow it for you', is a motto a life mentor used to tell me, and I am sorry when this sentence resurfaces. Nobody from another country is telling this American that We are on a ship of fools. They are worried because they care not only about US, but how this is going to impact on them. India has moved closer to China, Africa is also under its industrious wing, and here we remain trapped in The Big American Hamster Wheel where some of US are holding on to Our Dreamers.
The Trump Era will be remembered historically, and it is the young and bright minds among us with a solid head on their shoulders, who will set an example of how We took America back from a man unfit to be President.
5
Perfect score here - which even some of my favorite commenters did not get. No hesitation on any of the questions; clearly, I am spending too much time following this addictively malignant administration and need to return to a healthier lifestyle.
12
So I only got ten out of the fourteen. What is that? Maybe a C+? I bet I still did better than Trump would have done had he taken the test.
9
No he would have done the BEST! He went to the best schools and got the best grades. Thanks!
1
How sad, I got all 14 correct.
6
2 wrong: The transparent wall and the need to screen 3/4 of a million applicants for border control.
No excuses but there's such a "richness" of crazy talk from this guy, it's hard to remember every single one of them.
Have you got a fave? Mine is "I was the best baseball player in New York" at the time when there were some guys named Mantle, Maris, Berra, and Ford playing for an "obscure" team called The Yankees!
No excuses but there's such a "richness" of crazy talk from this guy, it's hard to remember every single one of them.
Have you got a fave? Mine is "I was the best baseball player in New York" at the time when there were some guys named Mantle, Maris, Berra, and Ford playing for an "obscure" team called The Yankees!
7
I aced the quiz which I don't very often.
But all one has to do to ace this quiz is to read the answers carefully and pick the one that is both more outrageous and more gauche (comment to French president's wife) and has the most bragging points.
But all one has to do to ace this quiz is to read the answers carefully and pick the one that is both more outrageous and more gauche (comment to French president's wife) and has the most bragging points.
5
Oh god, I got 14 out of 14. He really is so terrible that the most awful, seemingly unthinkable choices are always the correct ones. We are doomed.
15
For any sane person here or in the wider world, the correct answers to these quiz questions puts into stark relief how unfit in every way Donald Trump is to be President- the pathological and unrepentant lying, the outrageous hypocrisy, the mind-numbing stupidity, the bombastic boasting, the creepy misogyny, the megalomania and extreme narcissism, the rejection of science, the ugly calls to divisiveness and general mean-spirited vindictiveness are all on display in Gail's column. The tragedy is that for millions of "Trump's Army" the correct answers are proof of Trump's "tell it like it is" and "Make America Great Again" mission on the march and they couldn't be happier. God help us!
15
I correctly answered 14 out of 14. What do I win? I can only hope that this quiz is like an Escape Room and I am now free to hastily exit Trump's reign of (t)error. I will happily forgo whatever time remains in his (mis)administration. I've seen enough.
28
Well, you win watching the reality-show presidency roller coaster as it careens across the landscape, the sky, and the nether regions below. Cling to the safety bar as it gets every single issue and problem wrong since it's all about the guy behind the wheel! Hooooonk, honk, honk!
Don't stand too close. Experience may be hazardous to your health. Void where prohibited, and not responsible for death, dismemberment, or loss of reason.
Don't stand too close. Experience may be hazardous to your health. Void where prohibited, and not responsible for death, dismemberment, or loss of reason.
4
14 out of 14. All one has to do with Trump is pick the most offensive statement or behavior to be correct!
83
Bingo.
3
exactly. Simple enough, even from Canada
1
Your quizzes are the only ones I can ace. But its Trump that makes them easy. I need to get a new passport, but I'm delaying any foreign travel because my psyche cannot take any more ridicule about how foolish we Americans are! I travel to upstate N.Y. a good deal and get enough grief from the Canadians who also gamble there.
30
I got two wrong--the transparent wall and the Brigitte Macron comment which I should have remembered because it was so gauche-- because the possible answers seemed so plausible!
Now I sound like Donald Trump, casting blame anywhere I can.
This quiz reads like late night comedy.
Too bad it's not, when answering all these questions, what rang out for me was the utter hypocrisy of a president who usually says one thing (badly) while doing another (also badly).
Now I sound like Donald Trump, casting blame anywhere I can.
This quiz reads like late night comedy.
Too bad it's not, when answering all these questions, what rang out for me was the utter hypocrisy of a president who usually says one thing (badly) while doing another (also badly).
37
Nooooo, you used the word "plausible" so you could never sound like him! I'm pretty sure Trump has no idea what that means since he can't actually read.
7
I got 13 out of 14 (and actually knew he said that about NH, but not the context). Clearly I am paying WAY too much attention to this bozo.
102
Don’t feel badly, I got 12 out of 14 and I don’t even have a TV!
5
Ditto for me, Anne-Marie. I think the worry part of my brain is now officially full--can't take any more.
1
Me too. Also got the same one wrong.
Gail, however did you choose just 14 ?
Summer is a season approximately 91 days long, meaning there were at least 300 Tweets (er, um 'Official White House Statements') to filter through in the first 30 days alone.
Courage ! Grit ! It is part of the strategy of the enemy to wear us all down with his fire hose of chaos to un-moor, disorient, and exhaust us.
Cling to the normal !
Summer is a season approximately 91 days long, meaning there were at least 300 Tweets (er, um 'Official White House Statements') to filter through in the first 30 days alone.
Courage ! Grit ! It is part of the strategy of the enemy to wear us all down with his fire hose of chaos to un-moor, disorient, and exhaust us.
Cling to the normal !
61
11 out of 14. My brain must be tired from 7 and a half months of insanity.
33
I got a perfect score, which is depressing.
175
So did I and I agree it's depressing. This quiz was too easy. All I had to remember was that with T-rump the most irrelevant or inappropriate statement would always be the correct answer.
10
Me, too. Big wup.
1
I think this was the easiest of Gail's quizzes. Aced it too.
This quiz was easier than usual. Everybody stay safe!
92
That's what happens, Walt, when you practice over and over and over again.....
A quiz that crystallizes an era of Trump, But is a metamorphosis in view?
Hello to everybody I’m the DT who’s new
I’m hale & heft and moving Left with Democrats my crew
I'm through with Mitch McConnell and choirboy Ryan too
With Schumer and Pelosi i have friendships to renew
On Houston money and debt limit i have made a deal
in tweets the details of which i’ll be happy to reveal
i need some legislation which ’til now i haven’t had
i’m going to be bipartisan which Mitch told me is bad
And I don’t know why.
Hello to everybody I’m the DT who’s new
I’m hale & heft and moving Left with Democrats my crew
I'm through with Mitch McConnell and choirboy Ryan too
With Schumer and Pelosi i have friendships to renew
On Houston money and debt limit i have made a deal
in tweets the details of which i’ll be happy to reveal
i need some legislation which ’til now i haven’t had
i’m going to be bipartisan which Mitch told me is bad
And I don’t know why.
109