Analysis: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is just a full-time meme queen now

By the look of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s social media feed these days, he doesn’t have anything better to do than churn out a constant barrage of memes.

In Abbott’s meme dreams, he gets to be a Mean Girl, a superhero and a tough, extremely cool guy. Through memes, he also gets to work out his Talarico trauma in real time, right in front of our eyes.

To be sure, multiple posts over the past couple of days have been memes devoted to U.S. Senate hopeful James Talarico, a charismatic state rep whose momentum suggests he’s got a shot at being the first Democrat to win a statewide seat in Texas since 1994.

Yesterday’s black-and-white image of “two-faced Talarico” came off something like a self-own however, as it suggests Abbott is so haunted by the Senate hopeful that he brings him up in therapy as a recurring boogeyman.

While we may be out of touch with the latest Manosphere discourse, wasn’t therapy once considered “weak” or “beta behavior” or whatever?

Regardless, good for you talking through your phobias with a professional, Greggy Boy.

The governor’s intense focus on Talarico seems to have picked up after a visit from former President Barack Obama, who joined the candidate and Abbott’s gubernatorial opponent, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, on the campaign trail this week.

Abbott marked the occasion with a good ole “he’s right behind me, isn’t he?” banger.

We know that Republicans aren’t the funniest lot (at least, not intentionally), but this is especially lame.

The “he’s right behind me, isn’t he?” trope isn’t just stale, it’s ancient.

Often misattributed to the Marvel comic book universe, it was actually a Marvel meme before it ever appeared in the MCU. And before that, it was a common trope on TV shows including 30 Rock, Ally McBeal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and dozens others. But it’s way older than that.

In fact, it dates all the way back to 450 B.C.

Its first-known origins trace back to the play The Frogs by Greek playwright Aristophanes.

Guess the joke’s on Talarico for … smiling?

Nevermind that Texas is the least insured state in the country, where 14% of the population lives in poverty.

Clearly, the governor has other priorities.

But let’s be real, it’s likely not Abbott regurgitating these mummified memes for propaganda purposes but some lowly intern whose name Abbott is yet to memorize and likely never will. Someone who takes everyone’s coffee orders in the morning and gets paid in expired coupons to the Capitol Cafe.

Probably for the best it’s some Millennial, since Abbott isn’t the most digitally adept, and is easily fooled by AI images on the internet. Or maybe that’s the intern’s work too?

Perhaps we’ll know that Abbott is, in fact, the man behind the curtain if he posts, “I HEREBY DECLARE THAT I DO NOT GIVE MY PERMISSION FOR FACEBOOK OR META TO USE ANY OF MY PERSONAL DATA.”

And if he posts anything about “MAGA-maxxing,” the jig is up, Kevin. If you had any friends, they would be embarrassed of you.

As much as he clowns on California, it seems Abbott has swiped a page out of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s book. Because forget improving the lives of your constituents. It’s all about who has the sassiest social media manager now.

For now, we just have to look on helplessly with not so much as a chuckle as he fiddles around while Rome burns.

---

Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

---