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Video screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET
All hands on deck, Internet! On Tuesday morning, you were gifted the greatest meme-generation machine ever when real estate mogul, reality television star, Birther and general loudmouth Donald Trump finally announced he’s seeking the Republican nomination for the American presidency.
Let’s get one thing straight at the outset: I’m not concerned today with the man’s politics, his policy ideas or his vision for the country. I mean, we will celebrate the Fourth of July twice between now and the general election in 2016, so there’s plenty of time to deal with all that later.
What I am interested in is the sheer volume of meme-worthy material Trump has generated over the decades that is currently just sitting on the Internet waiting to be Photoshopped, YouTubed, Vined, Instagrammed, Facebooked, Tweeted or Tumblred. The meme potential here is just off the charts, even more so than what we saw from the recent Mayweather-Pacquiao meme-pocalypse.
For example, are you even aware that this man has his own frickin’ board game (allegedly a pretty good one, to boot)? And have you seen the below video of Trump shaving Vince McMahon’s head during Wrestlemania 23?
At CNET’s Crave blog, we tend to get excited even by meme-worthy stunt campaigns, like when Darth Vader ran for the highest office in Ukraine, but here we have a real campaign with real supporters centered around a man who recently received far lower favorability ratings than Harry Potter’s Voldemort. Just in case you’re not buying those ratings, “Silicon Valley” star Kumail Nanjiani backed up the sentiment upon hearing the news today:
I’d vote for Voldemort over Donald Trump.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) June 16, 2015
America, we are talking about a man whose hair has generated its own submemes in the past.
This bird has Donald Trump’s hair! (Get #MEME Reader on the Appstore) pic.twitter.com/PPVuNeTv
— Carmiña Masi (@CarmiMasi) January 8, 2013
Even the Democratic National Committee took a moment to troll Trump following his announcement, releasing what would seem to be its first completely sarcastic response to a candidate’s announcement this election cycle:
Democratic National Committee
And yet, with all this potential, the Trump meme game remains relatively weak. Here’s one of the best we’ve seen so far on Twitter:
Good luck with your campaign, @realDonaldTrump! #ReanimateAmericapic.twitter.com/u0qdkhZ9Jt
— @midnight (@midnight) June 16, 2015
And this meme submission is recycled from Trump’s aborted 2012 threatened presidential campaign. (Did you really think I wouldn’t know?)
#DonaldTrump’s campaign poster gave me chills. pic.twitter.com/mcs9puv5Qi
— TODD SPENCE (@Todd_Spence) June 16, 2015
We can do better than this, Internet. We are talking about a presidential candidate with preexisting catchphrases, people! I challenge all of you to come together and deliver on this potential meme-dream that has been handed down upon high from Trump Tower today.
Unless you’re not up to it, in which case… you’re all fired.
