# "Straightforward From Here" On February 15, 2017, CNN political commentator Sally Kohn tweeted a numbered five-step plan to install Hillary Clinton as president and ended it with the line "Straightforward from here." Twitter users spent the day mocking her supposedly simple route, and by that afternoon the sign-off was lifted as a template for parody plans with wildly impossible steps. ## Origin On February 14, 2017, The New York Times reported that members of Donald Trump's campaign had been in repeated contact with Russian intelligence officers during the year before the 2016 election[3]. The story landed shortly after National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned over his own undisclosed Russian contacts[4]. The following morning, February 15, CNN political commentator Sally Kohn posted a five-step list on Twitter outlining how Hillary Clinton could still take the Oval Office, including impeaching Donald Trump, impeaching Mike Pence, and holding an unprecedented special election[1]. Kohn capped the tweet with the words "Straightforward from here." - **Platform:** Twitter - **Creator:** Unknown (parodies of Sally Kohn's original tweet) - **Date:** 2017 ## Overview A standard parody follows Kohn's numbered scaffold, ends with the deadpan sign-off "Straightforward from here," and fills the five steps with wildly complicated or physically impossible actions[1]. Posts ranged from political setups like impeaching every official in the line of succession to goofy riffs involving time travel or breakfast cereal. New York Magazine's Select All summed up the formula by writing that "all you need is a list of steps, any steps, and you're in business"[1]. Humor relies on the deadpan closer, so the final step usually carries the punchline, something like "Hillary becomes president" or "profit." Twitter users from both the left and the right riffed on the format in the hours after Kohn's original tweet, playing on the contrast between the orderly list style and the obviously nonsensical plan[2]. ## How to Use Posters typically open with a numbered list, write short declarative steps, and finish with the deadpan tag line "Straightforward from here"[1]. The common convention runs from a plausible-sounding first step to an absurd final step, so step 5 usually carries the punchline. Users often mix political and apolitical setups, from undoing legislation to arranging first dates. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is "Straightforward From Here"? A Twitter joke format mocking Sally Kohn's February 15, 2017 tweet that laid out a numbered five-step plan to make Hillary Clinton president and ended with the line "Straightforward from here"[4]. ### Where did "Straightforward From Here" come from? The joke started on February 15, 2017, the morning after The New York Times reported that Trump campaign aides had been in contact with Russian intelligence officers[3]. ### What does "Straightforward From Here" mean? Online, the phrase is used sarcastically to describe a plan that is actually extremely complicated or impossible, in the pattern of Kohn's original tweet[1]. ### How do you use "Straightforward From Here"? Write a short numbered list of unlikely or impossible steps and tag the end with the catchphrase, following the mock-political format that Twitter users adopted in February 2017[2]. ### Is "Straightforward From Here" still popular? No. Peak usage sat inside February 15 and 16, 2017, and the format saw little reuse once new Trump-Russia news took over the cycle[4]. ## References 1. [https://nymag.com/selectall/2017/02/straightforward-from-here-impeach-trump-pence-tweet-memes.html]() 2. [https://dailycaller.com/2017/02/15/sally-kohn-proposes-straightforward-plan-to-install-president-hillary-twitter-tells-her-to-be-quiet-video/]() 3. [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/us/politics/russia-intelligence-communications-trump.html]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/straightforward-from-here]() 5. [https://twitter.com/sallykohn/status/831876258573201409]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/straightforward-from-here Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library