Memes are ridiculous, no doubt. But sometimes, the savvy pairing of an image with an innocuous sentence hits just the right spot. The inauguration memes and jokes that circulated on social media Friday did just that, especially for those Americans who were stressing and dreading the swearing in of the 45th president. They say that comedy is a perfect combination of tragedy and time, and after mulling over the election results for almost two months, internet jokesters were at the top of their game for the inauguration.
Let's face it: this whole inauguration of reality star and real estate guru Donald Trump is kind of surreal. Sure, he's a politician-in-training now, but who would have ever, ever thought that a one time WWE guest star would ever put his hand on Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King's Bibles and promise to uphold the American Constitution? It's meme-worthy, no matter what.
When you toss in some inclement weather, an incoming first lady who never looks too thrilled to be in D.C., and the plethora of Democrats who have pledged to fight the new president every chance they get — the 2017 inauguration is almost better than Chrissy Teigen loving (and hating) every minute of the Grammys or something.
Memes don't get much better than this and given the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of Americans who are scared out of their minds when it comes to the next four years, memes are all some people can get right now. It's not about ignoring the reality of the political climate, but being able to laugh when necessary and escape now and again. Even for just a minute. Or a second. Whatever works.
The inauguration memes were just as much about the goofy moments — like politicians' facial expressions, odd musical performances and awkward silences, Trump's hair on a windy morning, and imagining what Hillary and Bill Clinton could possibly be thinking as they watched and channeled the overwhelming feeling that most of social media seemed to have: that this day was the beginning of an era. For better or worse.
Meme-worthy or not, the inauguration of Donald Trump and Mike Pence actually happened. So maybe after today, it's time everyone stop spending their days trying to find the best joke about the president's hair (as funny as that may be) and get down to real business. Like making memes of the potential Cabinet members' hearings.
