Mindy Kaling’s gushing intro for Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at the Democratic National Convention turned stomachs and garnered groans online after The Office writer and actor rolled out a couple of cringe memes to welcome Pelosi to the stage.
Kaling hosted the third night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on Wednesday, and didn’t skimp on praise for the raft of Democratic politicians she introduced, mixing it up with stories about cooking dhosa with Vice President Kamala Harris, and Kaling’s Massachusetts hometown pride.
Kaling introduced Pelosi by noting that she was the first woman Speaker of the House
“This woman was doing Brat before Brat was Brat,” Kaling joked, referring to the meme sparked by the Charli XCX album of the same name. The “Brat” mindset is basically about kicking back, having a good time, and not caring what people think, and was swiftly adopted by the Harris campaign.
“The mother of dragons, please welcome, Nancy Pelosi!” Kaling said, as Pelosi came out to 46 seconds of exuberant cheering—and one mystery item—before beginning her address.
While it looked like the crowd at the convention enjoyed Kaling’s introduction, online the complaints piled up—posters thought the “mother of dragons reference” was dated and played out.
And Kaling using “brat” was a clear sign that “brat summer” is over and the meme is dead.
“Mindy Kaling calling Nancy Pelosi the Mother of Dragons is the most violently 2013 assemblage of words the human mind can construct,” posted @lizanderson___ on X.
The “mother of dragons” reference is a nod to the Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen, the First of Her Name, also known as the Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains.
She’s called the Mother of Dragons because she birthed three dragons from eggs that were thought to be dead, which she then uses to try to take over the world, essentially.
Nancy Pelosi is also known for being a savvy political operator.
Game of Thrones ran from 2011-2019 and came up often in pop cultural political moments.
The actor Jessica Chastain posted a photo of then-Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton photoshopped to look like Daenerys during the 2016 debates, so Kaling using it last night definitely isn’t the timeliest reference in the world
“mindy kaling calling nancy pelosi ‘the mother of dragons’ turned me into a republican,” joked @jhawkharding.
The “brat” memes also got widely panned.
“Nancy Pelosi backstage hearing Mindy Kaling say she was ‘doing BRAT before BRAT was BRAT,’” joked @emilybernay over a shot of Brian Cox as Logan Roy in the TV show Succession grimacing. Cox plays a no-nonsense media titan in the show.
“And just like that, BRAT summer was ruined,” posted @andrewmvson.
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