With the first (and maybe only) presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris now in the rearview, there are so many moments to pick apart and discuss that it’s hard to pick just one.
Between immigrants eating cats and back-and-forth barbs about rally attendance, one thing seemed to really get the meme machine going: Trump’s mention of “concepts of a plan.” Concepts of a plan?! What does it even mean?
This gem of a response came after Trump bashed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the milestone healthcare law that provides millions of Americans with affordable, government-subsidized healthcare. When asked about an alternative, Trump said he was “looking at different plans.”
“I have concepts of a plan. I would only come up with something that’s better . . . there are concepts and options we have to do that. And you will be hearing that in the not-so-distant future.” Very concrete! This is not a new thing for Trump, who repeatedly called the ACA “expensive” during his tenure and tried unsuccessfully many times to repeal the plan with no alternative or solution.
The floodgates opened quickly after that, with the Harris campaign taking an open salvo on X and letting Trump’s own words resonate by themselves. As of this writing the tweet has more than 1.4 million views.
The Harris campaign has so far excelled about letting Trump dig his own grave. Soon there were pretty accurate Simpsons references to bumbling ambulance-chasing attorney Lionel Hutz, whose unscrupulous behavior cemented his legacy as the ultimate pop culture scheister, in the vein of Saul Goodman from Breaking Bad.
Our next exhibit involves everyone’s favorite distant family member, Gregory Hirsch aka cousin Greg from Succession, who also encapsulates that bumbling sense of entitlement.
Here’s a good one from renowned comedian Michael Ian Black, who demonstrated the type of timing he’s known for in shows like The State and the Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.
Actor and director Ben Stiller also got in on the fun, showing that his ’90s knowledge was still pointed and sharp.
Comedian Mike Drucker pointed out the hilarity of what would happen if the common man decided to use the phrase in a job interview.
Next up is one of those where words can’t do it justice. Take it the beauty in visually. It just.. works.
Here’s world-famous economist Ernie Tedeschi getting in on the fun with a sly reference to how long we’ve been waiting for a new book from Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.
Journalist Manny Fidel also got in a quick jab.
Last but not least we have some decidedly measured insight from the snarky political X account Angry Staffer.
There are many more of these and we also have concepts of a plan to get to them one day. If one line from this debate goes down in political history, we suspect it’ll be this one. Expect this utterance to haunt the Trump campaign right up until polling day.
Published: Sep 11, 2024 05:13 am