Lauering The Bar
Lowering standards
Example
It's not fair, Mr. Johnson was Lauering the bar for you while he asked me really hard questions. In Spanish!
Lauering the bar definition by Slang.net
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Lauering the bar is a term that refers to the lowering of standards. The phrase comes from the criticism of Matt Lauer's moderating during the Commander-In-Chief Forum featuring Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on September 7, 2016.
The criticism revolves around the perceived unfairness in the questioning of the candidates. Lauer seemed to ask tougher questions to Clinton about her email server gaffe and other issues while going easier on Donald Trump. Some of the complaints included Lauer's unpreparedness in handling Trump's answers and not fact-checking Trump when he said he was always against the war in Iraq, when, in fact that is not true. Part of the outcry and where the term comes from, is rooted in the belief that Trump is held to lower standards by the media because of his entertainment value. The term started trending on Twitter as a hashtag the following morning.