Monday, June 8, 2020

Jared’s verbs

Jared Kushner, speaking today at the White House:

“The law enforcement community heard the cries from the community, saw the injustices in the system that needed to be fixed, and they responded by coming together to fix it, and it’s been a great partnership to do that. Those reforms make our communities safer and have made our system fairer, and that’s the type of action that we’ve been able to accomplish by working together.”
It’s blather, of course, but blather of a curious kind.

“They responded by coming together to fix it, and it’s been a great partnership to do that.” Past and present perfect verbs. Mission accomplished.

“Those reforms make our communities safer and have made our system fairer, and that’s the type of action that we’ve been able to accomplish by working together.” Present and present perfect. Done and done. And “those reforms”? What reforms?

Jared’s verbs (and his demonstrative adjective) claim reality for what’s non-existent. The present king of France is bald.

[My transcription.]

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