Official policy: If you can’t beat ‘em, meme ‘em
Also known as: smells like meme spirit / livin’ the American meme / I have a meme / it was all a meme / lucid memeing / I memed a meme / a meme come true
For the time being, this hyper-active governmental meme culture is contained within our borders. I don’t know if that’s due to its nascent-ness or because our leaders actually still possess a single wit about them.
But I can’t shake this feeling that sooner rather than later we’re going to see a nuclear meme deployment in one of the many fights we’ve picked with our adversaries (and friends, tbh). How would the Trump War Room memeify, say, Vladimir Putin? I don’t want to know!!!
Shit’s really weird right now, but at least the cope aligns with my sensibilities: joke our way through it and have a drink about it. Shout out to the D.C. bars offering shutdown specials — $7 beer and hot dog, an hour of free vodka, free entry for government workers, and tons of sub-$10 martinis. You deserve it (unless you’re a member of Congress, then get the hell back to work).
Today: a closer look at MAHA, the Netflix boycott, Democrats’ saviors, and of course, a full breakdown of the meme war.
FROM THE RIGHT WING:
HEALTH IS LITERALLY WEALTH: There were 5,500 people on The MAHA Report’s weekly Zoom on Oct. 1. Many of the movement’s patron saints showed face: Calley Means, Dr. Oz, Food Babe, all armed with new research and points of attack. First of all, genius — the format costs zero dollars and is ripe for replication. Second, former neurosurgeon and Trump 1.0 Cabinet member Ben Carson told the story of him trying to kill someone when he was younger. A classic. But here’s the meat (or, I guess, plant-based substitute for some): through the confusion and anger about Trump’s new Pfizer deal, I spotted the arrival of something I’ve been waiting for. It was the first time I’ve seen MAHA adherents complain about the affordability of the movement.
RAGE AGAINST THE OBSCENE: Can manmade lightning strike twice? The Disney boycott worked, now Netflix is in the line of conservative fire. Elon Musk is urging his 227M followers to cancel their subscriptions for a whole host of woke infractions: a “trans cartoon for kids,” promoting “boys crossdressing,” and “employing someone who celebrated the murder of Charlie Kirk.” So far the stock has taken a little hit, but they want blood.
FROM THE LEFT WING:
NOT A BIRD, NOT A PLANE: When I tell you it was like comic book civilians foaming at the mouth over the arrival of Superman and Wonder Woman. Democrats were bobbing around, completely unmoored, in the flood waters of this government shutdown — until Bernie and AOC threw the base a fucking inner tube in the form of a three-minute video explaining their focus. I saw a lot of seldom-offered gratitude in response. Elation over their normalcy. Vindication that it’s possible to take hold of the narrative without cheap tricks. Clarity, for many, that this has answered the lingering question about who leads the party.
TRAIN OF THOUGHT: I get a lot of joy from the Train People on the internet. They, on the other hand, do not get a lot of joy from the freezing of $18B dedicated to New York infrastructure. Forget pinning the freeze on budget overruns or construction delays. Nah, let’s cancel a massive transit project for DEI! I obviously had to hit up The Transit Guy, Hayden Clarkin, for his take:
“If a subway project projected to carry 110,000 riders daily, and the most critical rail tunnel in the country expected to serve 200,000 riders daily, are now considered DEI and ‘woke,’ I no longer know what those terms mean.”
THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE:
FEELING MEME-SPIRITED: I want you to hear my long, vibrational, lip-flapping exhale as you read this. 37 memes. From the past two days. “Transgender for everybody” is passé. The White House, Trump, Cruz, the official party account — all are now mandating sombrero for everybody. On the off chance you don’t want sombrero (like all Democrats), they also offer The Office, The Simpsons, I Think You Should Leave, and “graphic design is my passion.” Refusing to go quietly into that good night, Gavin Newsom’s Press Office has rattled off 15 meme or meme-adjacent tweets in the same span: the minionization of Mike Johnson and JD Vance, the Antoinetteification of Trump himself. Is there like a political meme sweatshop we need to uncover? I hope they are being compensated fairly for their work through this shutdown!
A SLOPGAP: The latest in Andrew Cuomo’s string of (honestly) inexplicable decisions comes in the form of his first general election ad. 10 of the 30 seconds are made up of the most unsettling AI renderings of him doing working class jobs. Very tough when that’s stacked up next to something as human as a campaign video about canvassing with deaf New Yorkers.
LOOSE ENDS:
📝 Word I learned today: deciduous
1 : falling off or shed seasonally or at a certain stage of development in the life cycle; 2 : “Just general October vibes” — Faraz Toor, Recount Social Media Manager
📰 Something you should read today: Cami Fateh rocket-launched Feed Me’s new column “Political Parties.” I don’t get to say stuff “feels like it was made for me” very often because of my bizarre confluence of interests, but this … this is heaven sent. (And paywalled, sorry).
🥹 Something to make you smile today: FAT BEAR WEEK HAS A NEW CHAMPION!!!! He’s nearly cracked the title multiple times in the past, but 2025 is finally his year — broken jaw and all. 32 Chunk … instant pantheon for me.
