In early December 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ominously promised to give the U.S. a “Christmas gift.” While North Korea made this thinly-veiled threat amidst tension-filled nuclear talks, it’s still unclear as to what this “gift” might be. However, North Americans are making the best of the circumstances by turning their impending doom into Christmas gift memes. After all, what better time to morbidly meme than the holidays?
Starting in the wee hours of Christmas morning, Twitter users in the U.S. and Canada started joking about North Korea bombing them. Everyone who woke up to scores of tweets about a nuclear attack was as horrified as they were amused. Needless to say, some people erred more on the side of paranoia.
https://twitter.com/BrokeBoySam/status/1209843164166668288?s=20
https://twitter.com/j23ssica/status/1209845452948070401?s=20
https://twitter.com/Justinwalny1/status/1209844343261061120?s=20
When I wake up to see Twitter has been provoking Kim Jong Un & North Korea to nuke us all night pic.twitter.com/mOgTNzonBo
— SSGSS Goatgeta🐐🇸🇻 (@Astr0Savi0r) December 25, 2019
As “North Korea,” “Kim Jong Un,” and the hashtag #NorthKoreaChristmasGift all began to trend on Twitter, several users were consumed by one question: What on earth does Jong-un think about all these Christmas gift memes?
Is he bummed because he actually wants to give the U.S. a wholesome present? Are the jokes provoking him to nuke us? Is he embarrassed by the memes? The world may never know.
#northkoreachristmasgift
— Pride (@aptifyD2) December 25, 2019
everyone: he’s gonna nuke us
kim jong un: pic.twitter.com/RHqUlw7FRE
https://twitter.com/dmentus_/status/1209767988653481984?s=20
https://twitter.com/pierobuccellato/status/1209763578430943233?s=20
https://twitter.com/micheIIej/status/1209746288033570816?s=20
Regardless, it seems that North Korea might have seriously overestimated people’s will to live. Some Twitter users were more than ready for Jong-un’s Christmas gift. After all, who doesn’t long for the sweet release of death these days?
https://twitter.com/SaladLovesYou2/status/1209855785691271169?s=20
#northkoreachristmasgift Kim Jong Un when he realizes Americans actually want to get nuked pic.twitter.com/n8xM90F63U
— Ricky (@rickyp_q) December 25, 2019
However, the majority of Christmas gift memes were pretty cheeky. Some Twitter users were sitting back in anticipation of America retaliating.
https://twitter.com/Cold_Ones_Andy/status/1209839942643396610?s=20
https://twitter.com/dmentus_/status/1209752666835783680?s=20
I just wanna remind kim jong un that we still got shooters like this living in the U.S before he decides to try some mark ass shit 😤 pic.twitter.com/MdhgN8l9e7
— Big O. 🧸🇳🇬 (@The_Real_Odera) December 25, 2019
Moreover, some Twitter users blatantly dared Jong-un to send the damn thing. Where’s the Christmas gift, Kim?
https://twitter.com/kellyanhmaii/status/1209851284330815490?s=20
me to kim jong un because we haven’t gotten our gift from north korea yet pic.twitter.com/wRMBXmbKs1
— Sky • prequels’ defense president (@skysmadden) December 25, 2019
Still others were ready to throw hands with Kim Jong-un in an all-out brawl. Say what you want about Americans, but they’re bold.
https://twitter.com/BlackForcesTye/status/1209743898509053957?s=20
https://twitter.com/OscarTokyo/status/1209604571309498368?s=20
However, less combative members were more interested in diffusing any possible conflict. This Twitter demographic brainstormed a variety of ways to prevent Jong-un from sending the Christmas gift altogether. Their methods ranged from creative distractions to outright begging, and some were more compelling than others.
https://twitter.com/1800slater/status/1209756422113808384?s=20
Me trying to distract Kim Jong Un from launching the North Korea missiles pic.twitter.com/BqYKtXXhoL
— Madison aka Crawfish Girl™ (@madisonnmgg) December 25, 2019
https://twitter.com/CHANRAClST/status/1209739766805209088?s=20
Bombing memes aside, perhaps the Christmas day gift isn’t nuke-related after all. President Trump recently speculated that maybe Kim Jong-un intended to send a “nice present” like “a beautiful vase, as opposed to a missile test.” While few were convinced that a decorative vase is in store, some Twitter users began guessing at the nature of a non-nuclear gift. Might it be a Rihanna album? A new hairstyle? NSFW content on Twitter?
https://twitter.com/XiomaraSustaita/status/1209581384190373888?s=20
The Kim Jong Un #northkoreachristmasgift is new hairstyles and not a vase pic.twitter.com/OF2esPClBn
— Bragg (@Braggasnoruss) December 25, 2019
https://twitter.com/angryhippy01/status/1208602912819040257?s=20
What about that priceless photoshoot Jong-un already graced us with? No other gift could possibly compare.
Everyone seems to be forgetting that Kim Jong Un already gave us his Christmas present pic.twitter.com/aXLm3jffQI
— Dan LaMorte (@DanLaMorte) December 25, 2019
Of course, some folks were just happy to get a Christmas gift at all.
https://twitter.com/WH1TEFERRAR1/status/1209764546295975936?s=20
https://twitter.com/gyullovebot/status/1209873214702268418?s=20
While this is certainly an optimistic take on the situation, hopefully North Korea’s threat remains just that—a threat. Surely we can all do without one more present this holiday season.
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