Probably you used to keep a bottle in your bathroom at home, or your parents did. The stuff is called ipecac, and it is what physicians call an emetic.
The idea was that if someone swallowed something bad, like a poisonous plant or the wrong pills, they could be treated with a couple spoonfuls of this to induce something unpleasant but good: rapid and forceful vomiting.
It is not intended as an insult to President Donald Trump to observe that he is the political equivalent of ipecac syrup. Looked at in a certain light, it is closer to a compliment. Continue reading.