[Ads-l] Hire a clown, expect a circus.

[Ben Zimmer]

You'll find earlier variations for "...elect a clown..." as in these two
letters to the editor:

---
Des Moines Register, Aug. 22, 1987, p. 7, col. 1
When we elect a clown for president, we get a circus.
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-des-moines-register/203810734/
---
Times-Union (Rochester, NY), Aug. 16, 1994, p. 7, col. 3
Remember, folks -- when you elect a clown, expect a circus!
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-union/203810852/
---


On Fri, Aug 14, 2026 at 1:41 PM Jonathan Lighter <
00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> I've encountered this half a dozen times in recent months. AI tells me
> that  it is "the title of a rock/ska song by the band Tree House Fire,
> released on August 7, 2020, on their album Isolation Jams."
>
> Google AI defines it as  "a popular idiomatic proverb meaning that if
> you bring unqualified, unserious, or chaotic people into a situation,
> you should not be surprised when chaos and disorder follow."
>
> It mostly appears in recent political contexts.
>
> Inexplicably, N finds only a single example, regrettably anonymous:
>
> 2017 _Republican Herald_ (Pottsville, Pa.) (June 25) A-13: To people
> telling me that I have to like and accept President Trump, I accept it
> but I don't have to like it. Hire a clown, expect a circus."
>
>
>

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