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  4. The first 2020 presidential debate was marked by chaos. Here are the best memes that came out of it.

The first 2020 presidential debate was marked by chaos. Here are the best memes that came out of it.

Palmer Haasch   

The first 2020 presidential debate was marked by chaos. Here are the best memes that came out of it.
  • The first 2020 presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden took place on Tuesday in Cleveland, Ohio.
  • The event was chaotic, characterized by interruptions, sharp jabs, and misinformation, mostly from the president.
  • On social media, that chaos provoked a number of memes and reactions that went viral. Here are some of the best.

The first presidential debate of 2020, held in Cleveland, Ohio, was "an embarassment for the US," as Insider's Jake Lahut wrote, and was defined by the chaos of multiple people talking over each other, verbal jabs, and misinformation that was largely spread by President Donald Trump.

Key moments from the event included Trump telling right-wing extremist group the Proud Boys to "stand by," a statement that didn't go unnoticed by the group itself, moderator Chris Wallace pleading with Trump to stop interrupting, and Trump encouraging his supporters to "go into the polls and watch very carefully."

The vitriol and chaos of the event fueled chatter on social media, sparking commiseration and plenty of jokes that were spun out of pop culture references or repetition of phrases from the debate. Biden's "will you shut up, man?" or CNN's Jake Tapper's description of the event as a "hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a trainwreck" were instantly meme-able sound bites that spread across social media.

Here are some of the best memes and reactions that played out on social media after the debate.

Many highlighted the draining experience of watching the debate online by comparing it to other pop culture artifacts like "Uncut Gems," a film known for being relentlessly noisy, or the infamous "Wicked Witch of the East, bro" clip.

Others used art memes to capture the vibe of watching — or vicariously experiencing — the debate.

Trump's mention of "forest cities," which Austria's prime minister said was a mischaracterization, also drew some familiar pop culture comparisons to the forest-dwelling Ewoks of "Star Wars," as The Daily Dot reported.

During the debate, Trump falsely claimed that poll watchers had been kicked out of Philadelphia polls. In turn, he also made a comment — "Bad things happen in Philadelphia" — that Philadelphians latched on to, as BuzzFeed reported.

Of course, no set of Philadelphia memes would be complete without meme icon and Philadelphia Flyers mascot, Gritty.

As The Hill reported, people drew comparisons between one of Biden's clear gazes into the camera and Jim Halpert from "The Office," who frequently reacts to shenanigans on the show by exasperatedly looking into the camera.

Biden's "Will you shut up, man?" arguably became the most-quoted line of the night, with the Biden campaign tweeting its own edit of the exchange complete with a sobbing emoji bizarrely superimposed over Trump's face along with the sound of a baby crying.

Complex reported that the Biden campaign was already selling shirts with the one-liner on it, but they appear to have been taken down from the campaign store.

After the debate, CNN's Jake Tapper called the debate a "hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a trainwreck," saying that it was "the worst debate I have ever seen.

It wasn't even a debate. It was a disgrace." A clip of the statement, posted on TikTok by @spicy.mare, had amassed over 800,000 likes after it was posted, and there are now over 2000 videos associated with the sound on TikTok.

@spicy.mare

cant wait to make a gazzillion videos to this!!!!!! ##fyp ##foryou ##trump ##debate ##biden

♬ donny trump dump truck hot mess express - shelby
@artbydemarcusshawn

##fyp ##Fashion101 ##HalloweenAtHome ##OikosOneTrip ##ImmuneUpVapeDown

♬ donny trump dump truck hot mess express - shelby

And of course, online reactions to any major event wouldn't be complete without a reference to the very false, but very funny "Jason Derulo has fallen down the steps" meme.

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