Sanewashing Revisited

While reading Andrew Gelman's recent post on sanewashing, I was surprised at how many people in the comment section seem to be completely unfamiliar with the term. Best lesson here is that I shouldn't assume that most normal people obsessively follow press critics like Margaret Sullivan.

With that in mind, here is my working definition, supported by a beautiful example from, of course, the New York Times.

Sanewashing is the practice of journalists downplaying signs of instability, mental decline, and general craziness through often comically understated language, extensive and misrepresentative paraphrasing that overstates the coherence and softens the rhetoric of the original statements, burying especially embarrassing details, or simply choosing not to cover certain stories.

Sanewashing is closely associated with normalization, coverage that desensitizes readers to how extreme and bizarre these times are.

Sanewashing is applied to various groups (Silicon Valley lunacy has been benefiting from it for well over two decades), but it is most strongly associated with MAGA and Donald Trump.

When on the lookout for sanewashing, it is important to note that, with the exception of stories that receive no coverage at all, the process almost never washes away all of the craziness. Though we can't get into the reporters' and editors' heads, the objective generally appears to be finding a middle ground between depicting these statements, events, and policies as normal and calling them out for what they are.

Last week's Republican "convention" gave us numerous fine examples, but this might be the best.

Trump: "Please right your right hand. I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States. That loves us so much he can't even breath. That I will go out with my family, my friends, I'll do it any way - I don't care if I'm registered or not, I'm going to try to cheat like hell..."

[image or embed]— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) September 10, 2026 at 7:32 PM

At one point, Trump, invoking the extensively debunked lie that massive voter fraud cost him the election in 2020, had Republicans pledge to do anything necessary, including cheating and voting illegally, in order to win in November. You can see the video in the tweet. Here's the transcript.

TRUMP: So please raise your right hand. I pledge —
CROWD: I pledge.
TRUMP: To the greatest president in the history of the United States —
CROWD: To the great president in the history of the United States.
TRUMP: That loves us so much he can't even breathe.
CROWD: That loves us so much he can't even breathe.
TRUMP: That I will go out with my family, my friends, I'll do it any way, I don't care if I'm registered or not, I'm going to try to cheat like hell like they do. There has never been bigger cheaters, they don't care, I am going to go out and I'm going to get my friends and family and we are going to vote on November 3, or we are going to vote before that.

Now here's how the described that moment.

By Shane Goldmacher, Lisa Lerer Sept. 11, 2026

Vice President JD Vance was billed as the headliner of the second night of the Republican convention, but President Trump stole the show.

With a hug and a handshake, Mr. Vance exited stage right after his speech as Mr. Trump returned to the place he likes most — center stage — to make his final pitch of the convention to keep Republicans in power.

At one point Mr. Trump asked attendees to raise their right hands and pledge to him that they would vote with their family and friends. Dutifully, they did.

“You know what happens if you don’t vote?” Mr. Trump said. “You go to hell.”

You'll notice the most memorable and newsworthy bit have somehow been left out.

Perhaps an even more dramatic example of sanewashing was found in the video that accompanied the New York Times story. I don't know how to embed this video, but I did capture the relevant frames.

The video captures the opening of Trump's statement, but abruptly stops mid-sentence right before the part about cheating.

By comparison, PBS Newshour ran the entire clip so make sure to do your part when the next pledge drive comes around.

Through not directly related to sanewashing, this RNC video gives you some idea of what an accurate depiction of today's GOP would have to convey.

Wow -- RNC video: "On June 14th, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, 'I need a caretaker,' so God gave us Trump." It only gets more unhinged and culty from there.

[image or embed]— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) September 10, 2026 at 5:26 PM