This week, Ted Cruz, who is definitely not the Zodiac Killer, sat down and made some phone calls to inspire people to get out and vote in November. A clip of Cruz leaving a voice mail, recorded by Dallas Morning News photographer G.J. McCarthy, has since started making the rounds online. In it, Cruz implores the call’s unknown recipient to “come out to support freedom, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.” (Weirdly absent: the names Donald Trump and Mike Pence.)
And while a politician phone-banking for an impending election isn’t anything earth-shattering, there is something great about the optics of Cruz, with mouth pursed and eyebrows furrowed, leaving voice mails in front of a wall covered in Trump posters. (Trump. The man he refused to endorse at the RNC and generally doesn’t seem to like.)
So, as is the natural way of things on the internet, phone-call Cruz has transcended from passing video clip to full-on meme. As far as internet gimmicks go, the bar for this meme is pretty low. Just screenshot Cruz’s little, sad face, add any caption you can think of, and tweet.
Fortunately for Ted, the meme news cycle has traditionally moved very quickly during this election. By tomorrow, we’ll all be off making fun of a picture of Hillary Clinton playing Pokémon Go or Jill Stein’s candidacy in general. But then again, the internet never forgets.
