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President Trump is full of thiols.

We all are, actually.

The easiest spots to find them are our hairs, however anyplace carbon, sulfur and hydrogen atoms are collectively having a party, one type of molecule they can form is a thiol. The mix and number of thiols in our system varies, depending on diet and other factors, thus the compound is unique to each person.

As life would have it, thiols are the main scent compound in skunk spray.

In humans, hair has to be burned before its unique combination of thiols is released into the air. Pepé Le Pew does his damage instantly, and up to 15 feet away. Not only that, the animal’s oily spray contains thioacetates, which slowly break down into thiols when wet. That is why the smell lingers long after the encounter. That is also why soap and water alone won’t do the trick. A person can shower until their skin prunes, but the skunk’s smell is not going away anytime soon.

As I said earlier, Trump is full of thiols.

And for more than a decade, since the day he came down that escalator to announce he was running for president, it was clear what he smelled like. Some Americans heard the racist remarks about immigrants and were immediately drawn to his scent. For others, it was an acquired taste. That is why the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in 2015 that he would hold his nose to vote for Trump and why in 2016 the Los Angeles Times published a headline that read: “Newport Beach voters on their reluctant Trump support: ‘I plugged my nose and voted for him.’”

Over the decade, the president has made it clear that being in his inner circle means more than tolerating the smell. It means ignoring the racism that shapes his administration policies. It means playing down his continuous attacks on the 1st Amendment, his lack of reverence for the Constitution, or the billions he and his family have made since returning to power.

“Daddy’s back,” is what Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds proudly said in January 2025.

Which is why removing the president’s picture from the Donalds gubernatorial campaign website, as he reportedly did earlier this month, won’t remove the smell of Trumpism. Not mentioning the president’s name in television ads or suddenly being against the war in Iran that Trump started — which is what Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers is attempting to do in Michigan — will not get Trump’s thiols off of his skin. Nor will deleting the phrase “Trump-endorsed candidate” from your social media bio, which is what Kansas Republican gubernatorial candidate Ty Masterson did after winning last month’s primary.

All three of those men were endorsed by the president.

Each of them knew what he smelled like.

Each of them agreed to smell like him … when it was politically advantageous. Now they can’t get the Trump stink off of them fast enough no matter how many times they lather, rinse and repeat.

The president’s popularity has cratered within the Republican Party, and heading into the general election on Nov. 3, Rogers and others are trying to present themselves as being both anti-Democrat and anti-Trump. As if the oily compound they doused themselves with in order to win the president’s favor and entice his few remaining........

© Los Angeles Times