And they said 2016 was invulnerable to parody.
It’s been a weird and wild political season, and on this April Fools’ Day, a couple of presidential candidates — one active, one long retired from the race — have tried to go a step further, having some fun with their followers on social media.
The U.S. Army is getting in on the game, too.
Here’s what we’ve seen so far.
Ted Cruz ‘Rickrolls’ his supporters
Ted Cruz has been challenging Donald Trump to debate him, one-on-one, for months. Today, Trump agreed.
Or not. The Texas senator employed the trolling meme — in which a video is interrupted by a clip of one-hit wonder Rick Astley singing his 1987 song, “Never Gonna Give You Up” (a gag commonly referred to as “Rickrolling”) — as his way of informing the viewer that there would be no showdown.
Rand Paul makes an endorsement
On Thursday, the former presidential candidate teased a “major endorsement announcement.” It’s “going to be YUGE,” he tweeted. “Don’t miss it.”
By early Friday morning, the joke was in:
“Yes Twitter,” he wrote. “I am just celebrating #AprilFools #endorsingentropy.”
Entropy 2016! (Paul has not backed an actual remaining candidate.)
The U.S. Army can do that?
If credulous Twitter mentions are any measure, the Army’s “report” that it can now “teleport” soldiers seems to be the most successful gag of the day.
The story quotes an Army private — who, we’re told, has just been transported from Massachusetts to Germany — as saying, “I felt a little tingling and the next thing you know, I’m in Bavaria. I always wanted to visit Europe, but I figured that I’d go by plane.”
Good advice
Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett, the state’s self-proclaimed “Tweeter Laureate,” has some wise words — and a GIF — to guide you: “On Twitter today — Believe nothing and trust no one. Translation: situation normal.”
