Somebody sound the Ted Cruz Comedy Alarm: Another prominent conservative figure has stumbled into the world of online attempts at humor. Vice President Mike Pence became the center of an internet comedy trend earlier this week, when a photo of him resolutely ignoring a “Do Not Touch” sign during a NASA tour began making the rounds. (NASA later let the VP off the hook for his daring burst of sign-defying naughtiness.)
Now, in an apparent effort to project an image of being laughed with, rather than at, Pence has joined in on the fun, claiming that Marco Rubio—that old goofster!—dared him to do it. Amazingly, Pence then doubled-down, posting a Photoshopped image of himself engaging in some other dangerous touching:
And while we’re pretty sure this is actually the work of some vice-presidential intern, ordered to make their reproductive rights-hostile boss seem vaguely human, there’s something amusing about imagining Pence putting the picture together himself:
“Mother,” he shouts, clicking away at the computer. “I’m doing it! I’m meme-ing, just like the grandkids!” “Sounds sinful,” comes the demurred response from the other room, and in his heart of hearts, Mike Pence knows his mother-wife is right. Still, he can’t help himself—the Lasso tool has him in its terrible grip. He cruises his way onto 4chan, new meme ideas bubbling into his brain. The era of vice-presidential shitposting has begun.