Updated at 5:31 p.m. ET:
A reporter for The Hill who landed White House chief of staff Reince Priebus in a dog pile of mockery Thursday has corrected her reporting and apologized to Priebus.
Molly Hooper originally reported that after House Republicans passed an Obamacare repeal bill, Priebus told her, “The president stepped up and helped punt the ball into the end zone.” In fact, Hooper reported later, Priebus said that Trump had helped to “punch” the football into the end zone, a colorful description of Trump providing the extra energy necessary to pass the bill.
.@Reince .@reince said "punch" the ball! Correction! Went back to relisten to audio (for 4th time) and heard the "Ch" ?apologies sportfans& @Reince
— Molly Hooper (@mollyhooper) May 4, 2017
Correct @reince quote: "The president stepped up and helped PUNCH the ball into the end zone."
— Molly Hooper (@mollyhooper) May 4, 2017
The original story is below:
White House chief of staff Reince Priebus found himself on the receiving end of his own unfortunate football metaphor Thursday.
After Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to pass their effort to repeal and replace Obamacare, Priebus reportedly responded with a colorful metaphor to The Hill’s Molly Hooper:
.@Reince exiting gop cloakroom tells me: "The president stepped up and helped punt the ball into the end zone."
— Molly Hooper (@mollyhooper) May 4, 2017
However, in football, punting the ball into the end zone results not only in a change of possession, but also the placement of the opposing team’s next snap at the 20-yard line.
In other words, Priebus had congratulated Trump for giving Democrats a favorable field position for the next health care battle.
A few football jokes ensued.
@mollyhooper @Reince So the ball is now back in the Democrats' hands at the 25 yard line?
— Mark Potts (@mrmarkpotts) May 4, 2017
@mollyhooper @Reince pic.twitter.com/mswyXQuycj
— Ben Anderson (@BenKFAN) May 4, 2017
@mollyhooper @Reince Good one, @Reince! pic.twitter.com/6OS7TocovN
— Courtney Enlow (@courtenlow) May 4, 2017
@mollyhooper @Reince I mean … (h/t @pogomunk) pic.twitter.com/TjLfdVBo2e
— Brooke T. Sample (@Brooke_Sample) May 4, 2017
This post has been updated.
I’m guessing Reince doesn’t watch a lot of football.
When you don’t know the sport, don’t use it metaphorically.
Republicans can do whatever they want. It’s right there in the constitution.
People who are clueless about football, or any sport for that matter, should not make analogies using football or other said sport. Otherwise, ridicule is sure to follow.