Thursday afternoon the White House weighed in on the greatest debate of our time: Laurel vs. Yanny. The clip is obviously supposed to be light-hearted and fun, a distraction but a harmless one. Naturally, this inspired people on the left to new fits of outrage.
The clip opens with Ivanka Trump and includes cameo appearances by Kellyanne Conway, Sarah Sanders, Larry Kudlow, VP Mike Pence and President Trump himself (plus several more people I don’t recognize). Most of the White House staff, to my relief, hears “Laurel.” That’s obviously the right answer and I can’t believe there’s anyone on the other side of this debate, but I guess some people have poor hearing from years of head-banging at metal shows.
Lots of people seem to appreciate this in the spirit in which it was intended. Some thought it was funny as these things go. But within 10 minutes of it going up, comedian/headhunter Kathy Griffin was dumping on it:
Hahaha aren't you guys so silly and fun!
Next up: deporting people! https://t.co/Fb2o6wYVG2
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) May 17, 2018
She was not alone. There are hundreds of tweets in the “lock them up” and “you’re monsters!” veins. I’m only selecting a few representative examples.
You are all going to jail and are currently building concentration warehouses for children. Maybe focus on that
— Ken Reid (@KennethWReid) May 18, 2018
Stop trying to act human you ghouls
— K. Thor Jensen (@kthorjensen) May 17, 2018
Meanwhile, you want an unrepentant advocate of #torture confirmed as head of @CIA … #priorities. #Haspel
— Joe Papp (@joepabike) May 17, 2018
We're not paying to do this stuff. Don't pretend to be human.
— John Fitzpatrick (@j_c_fitz) May 17, 2018
Congratulations @WhiteHouse … you officially ruined the #laurel #yanny debate with this video and it is no longer fun…
— Daniel Marin (@dangermarin) May 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/Loca2733Mc/status/997264763217465345
That video was almost as white as it was unfunny.
— Miss Matched Shoes 👡👠 (@threejuniormnts) May 17, 2018
Here’s the clip. It’s not what I’d call a knee-slapper but the final line is amusing:
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