What do we think about this clip? Do we think the guy brought the soup to the protest (a) because he had a joke planned and was hoping to seek out a camera crew to make it happen or (b) for the other reason?

I didn’t pause to watch it when tweets about it were circulating last night but the lefties high-fiving over it led me to assume the answer was (b). Maybe CNN had stumbled into an interview with a rioter before he unloaded his “ammo” and he decided to be cheeky about it.

Having now watched it, I think the answer is clearly (a). He had a gag in mind and he executed it. Pretty deadpan too.

Here’s what the joke is about. From July of last year, when Trump was asked about riots:

Trump in July: And you have people coming over with bags of soup and the anarchists… start throwing it at our cops… And if it hits you, that’s worse than a brick because that’s got force… And when they get caught, they say, “No, this is just soup for my family.” pic.twitter.com/xs9tcY9aA5

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 1, 2020

Righties didn’t pay that comment much mind but lefties mocked it relentlessly. Cops in Brooklyn Center were reportedly hit with cans, though, during the riot in the immediate aftermath of Daunte Wright’s death. “[O]fficers that were putting themselves in harm’s way were being pelted with frozen cans … they were being pelted with concrete blocks,” said the since-resigned police chief earlier this week.

Do rioters ever claim the cans are “soup for my family” when they’re caught with them, though?

This guy did last night, securing his viral moment online:

I don’t think that can of soup is for his family. #CNN #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/QpTjm2siA7

— SSG JOKER (@therealssgjoker) April 15, 2021

He’d been rehearsing that wink all day, I’d bet. This is apparently his Twitter account. He seems to be enjoying the attention from his joke immensely.

Sure looks like the answer’s (a) to me. Even Hannity’s website can’t quite bring itself to directly accuse him of having had the can for illicit purposes, although Newsbusters seems to be treating the clip as vindication for Trump. Victory lap for MAGA?