After President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday night, Republicans put forward Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) to deliver the traditional response from the opposition party.
Britt, Alabama’s first female senator, gave her response at her kitchen table, echoing standard Republican criticisms against Biden over his age, competency, and handling of the country.
Britt also criticized Biden heavily over his handling of the Southern border, which Republicans claim that he’s opened up to unprecedented levels of illegal immigration, and cast in dark, xenophobic terms as an invasion.
But while Britt’s speech wasn’t completely out of line with standard Republican complaints about the president, drawing the standard criticisms an address like it would, the internet also dinged her for just how bizarrely she gave it. People online posted jokes, memes, and riffs mocking her sometimes overwrought, theatrical, or just plain creepy style in the speech.
“My name is Katie Britt and I’m reading for the role of ‘mom on the brink,’ quipped @AluCanEatShrimp over a picture of Britt staring seriously at the camera.
Other people joked that the way she gave her remarks reminded them of televangelist fundraising.
“She’s about to ask for 99.99 and send me a bucket of food for the rapture,” quipped @Manokijones.
Still others knocked what they called bad acting on her part.
“Katie Britt is so bad she couldn’t be in one of my movies,” posted the actor Tom Arnold, who’s been in his fair share of duds over the years.
And while plenty of people joked about the speech, others saw her sharing a story about a woman who was sex trafficked and raped starting when she was 12 as hypocritical in the extreme given who the Republicans have as their candidate.
“She told me not just that she was raped every day, but how many times a day she was raped,” Britt said.
“Sex cartels are bad, says Katie Britt, which is why she wants you to vote for a rapist,” posted @hemantmehta.
Former President Donald Trump has been accused by multiple women over the years and was found by a jury to be liable for sexual assault in a defamation case brought against him by columnist E. Jean Carroll.
“Katie Britt: Sexual assault is a terrible thing. That is why you should vote for the man with several dozen sexual assault allegations who was found liable for sexual assault,” posted @OhNoSheTwitnt.
And some people just saw the speech as a warning, no matter how ridiculous it sounded.
“This is the best the republicans have to offer, Trump and this,” posted @BellaDonaModels. “So strange please lock your doors and hide your children! She’s scary.”
But it wasn’t the first time a State of the Union rebuttal generated memes, jokes, and quips.
Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) 2013 address, where he frequently paused for long water breaks, drew enough jabs to make it into a sketch on SNL. Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) also was mocked after a weird lip care routine had him glistening with what he later said was Chapstick.
While the rebuttal is often given to a politician who the party believes might be a future star, just as often the speaker is revealed to not quite be ready for prime time.
