Proving that satire is dead and we live in the dumbest possible universe, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin apologised today for recommending that people go see LEGO Batman, a movie he helped produce.
Image: Getty
Earlier this week, Democratic senator Ron Wyden called for the Office of Government Ethics to investigate Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin for promoting the LEGO Batman movie in an interview with Axios. Mnuchin was asked what movies he would recommend, and although he started his answer by saying he wasn’t allowed to promote anything, he cheekily finished by saying, “But you should send all your kids to LEGO Batman.”
Today, Mnuchin responded to the investigation, sending a sheepish letter to the agency admitting he “should not have made that statement” and promising to “exercise greater caution” in future. Boom. Got him, Democrats. Trump’s finished now.
The letter was first reported by NBC:
First to NBC: Mnuchin sends letter to OGE after Lego Batman movie comments in Axios interview pic.twitter.com/IIAYcg3tH5
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) March 31, 2017
Unfortunately, the letter doesn’t explicitly use the words “LEGO Batman”, which would have ruled. Instead, Mnuchin says he used “words that could reasonably have been interpreted to encourage the questioner to see a film with which I was associated”.
Say it, Steve. Say LEGO Batman. Say it on the US Department of Treasury letterhead, for all of us.