Humanity has always had a trouble focusing on the important things. The latest example? There are well over a dozen people running for president, hoping to defeat the sitting top dog, Donald J. Trump. Life on the planet may very well depend on one of them usurping his throne. Alas, right now on Twitter, none of them are out-trending another charismatic public figure: Baby Yoda.
This comes from Axios, who broke down social interactions over Facebook and Twitter from November 12 to the 25th, around the time the field was crashed by two more candidates: Deval Patrick and former New York City mayor and super-billionaire Michael Bloomberg. But no one could even come close to the break-out star of the new Star Wars show The Mandalorian — a pint-sized version of one of the franchise’s most beloved characters, being reluctantly towed around the galaxy by a semi-hero who never takes off his silvery metal mask.
Looking at this data can lead one to despair: Baby Yoda’s numbers are nearly twice that of the most trendable candidate, Bernie Sanders, who’s just barely out-pacing former veep Joe Biden. Perhaps most troublingly, Elizabeth Warren — who, at least a few weeks ago, was seen by some as the leading hopeful — is in sixth place among the candidates, lagging behind Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, and Kamala Harris.
Should everyone be worried? Probably not. For one thing, social media interactions aren’t always positive, and Biden, Buttigieg, and Gabbard have often inspired negative, even mockable reactions online. For another, even if it’s true that humanity is hopelessly frivolous, it’s also true that Baby Yoda is objectively, absurdly, insanely adorable. Just check out this latest meme, from the newest Mandalorian episode.
https://twitter.com/AdoptedBabyYoda/status/1200458953865326592
Every Mom on Christmas morning watching you open presents: pic.twitter.com/m7hI1qYoVz
— Julie Benson (@TheJulieBenson) November 29, 2019
https://twitter.com/vivithao/status/1200623602543947776
me watching my roommate getting ready to go out for the night pic.twitter.com/xZaA29pSpq
— JOHNNY SIBILLY (@JohnnySibilly) November 30, 2019
I’m sorry, were we talking about the 2020 presidential race and the fate of the planet and our fast-eroding democracy? After all we’ve been through lately, Baby Yoda is the internet distraction we deserve.
(Via Axios)