Judy Chu doesnt know much about Woodrow Wilson but heres why you should

Judy Chu, a Democrat who has been in Congress for 17 years, faced a straightforward question in the House Ways and Means Committee hearing this week: Who was the U.S.president during World War I?Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tossed her that softball amid talk of inflation and wartime economics under President Donald Trump.Her reply, delivered with confidence: “I don’t know.”The ensuing viral clip of the exchange between Chu and Bessent didn’t just sting politically; it also highlighted a deeper rot of political competence.Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president (1913-21), isn’t some obscure, dusty footnote.

He guided America into the Great War in 1917, wrestled with skyrocketing inflation, launched the Federal Reserve, championed women’s suffrage, and dreamed up the League of Nations.These facts aren’t mere trivia for Jeopardy! contestants.California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

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Never miss a story They are a key part of the story of how the US became a global player and how presidents have historically juggled global leadership and domestic needs — the very issues Chu was lecturing about moments earlier.Yet there she sat, blank-faced.The timing made the fumble deliciously ironic.Chu had been pressing concerns about rising costs of living — gasoline, electricity, airfare — tied to global tensions.

Bessent politely referenced Wilson as a historical parallel under wartime leadership.Instead of engaging, Chu offered the intellectual equivalent of the shrug emoji.For a legislator who’s spent years positioning herself as a thoughtful progressive voice on everything from small business to veterans’ affairs, it was a spectacular own goal.One wonders if her staff briefing packet skipped the part labeled “Basic American Presidents 101.”California P...