Stand up, down, back and by

I swore I'd stay away from it, but in the end I had to watch what even Sky News put quotes around: the "highlights" of the first Presidential debate. And probably the most incendiary quote from Trump was the "stand back and stand by" thing about the Proud Boys. That's what's caused the most sturm und drang as it implies that Trump is inciting them to violence if not actual civil war.

Hilariously, when I saw the actual video, it seemed pretty clear to me that in fact Trump misspoke. The moderator had asked him whether he'd ask groups like that to "stand down" and I think that's actually what Trump was trying to say. He got it wrong by saying 'stand back", then had a shot at correcting himself on the fly by adding "stand by". Whoops, still wrong. While he hasn't admitted since that he made an error, because no doubt he thinks that would make him look weak, since the debate he has actually used the phrase "stand down", and I strongly suspect that's what he meant all along.

How deliciously ironic would it be that after four years of appalling deeds he actually did do, including effectively murdering 200,000+ people, what turns out to lose him the election is something he never even meant? Very very deliciously ironic, that's what. Yum yum. Fingers crossed.