Trump Ranted About Japan’s Supposed ‘Bowling Ball Test,’ Causing The Internet To Strike Out

The Washington Post‘s recent report on President Trump‘s fundraising speech in Missouri on Wednesday revealed that he apparently (and willfully) lied to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a recent meeting. However, the audio obtained by the Post also cataloged the president’s well-known distaste for the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization, to the individual financial and trading practices of various allies who he believes are taking advantage of the United States. Like Japan, whom he accused of using “gimmicks” like the “bowling ball test” to deny American car imports.

Wait, what?

“It’s the bowling ball test. They take a bowling ball from 20 feet up in the air and drop it on the hood of the car,” Trump said of Japan. “If the hood dents, the car doesn’t qualify. It’s horrible,” he said. It was unclear what he was talking about.

Not only did the Post‘s reporters have no immediate idea as to what Trump was talking about, but Twitter users who caught on to the weirdly isolated gaffe couldn’t quite figure it out either. One user suggested it was “likely an attempt to reference Japan’s strict regulatory inspection process for automobiles,” but aside from his serious comment, pretty much everyone else who read about the supposed “bowling ball test” couldn’t resist offering their own explanations.

https://twitter.com/KatzOnEarth/status/974131623980658688

https://twitter.com/jbillinson/status/974125495397830656

https://twitter.com/kashanacauley/status/974128009337823234

Though to be fair, the “real” bowling ball test was never something Japan performed to impose strict regulations on American car imports, or even a figment of Trump’s wild imagination. It was actually inside us all along. At least, those of us who used to watch The Late Show with David Letterman.

(Via Washington Post)