Viral

Michael Cohen’s Testimony Has Inspired A Hilarious ‘How Many Times?’ Meme

Prison-bound ex-lawyer Michael Cohen spent the bulk of Wednesday being grilled by the House Oversight Committee, spilling his guts about the decade-plus he spent as lawyer to professional rich guy-turned-reality TV host-turned-president of the United States of America Donald J. Trump. There were a ton of break-out moments, from some Cohen saying the president thinks Donald Trump Jr. is an idiot, too, to a testy tête-à-tête between Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Republican Rep. Mark Meadows, in which the latter got angry that the former called him out for using a black Trump employee as a, in her words, “racist” “prop.”

There was also an accidentally hilarious bit in which Rep. Jackie Speer asked Cohen how many times Trump allegedly asked him to threaten an individual or entity on his behalf. At first Speer low-balled the figure. “100 times?” she inquired. “More,” Cohen replied. “200 times?” she asked. “More,” he again replied. “500 times?” she asked, a note of disbelief in her voice. “Probably,” he replied, perhaps unsure if the number was under 500 or over.

It’s a funny moment, in its pitch black way. It’s also what inspired the silliest responses from social media types, no doubt hungry for some loopy respite from what was a full day of either comically unpleasant allegations, ones that remind us of how screwed the country probably is, or reminders, usually from Republican representatives, that adults aren’t that much smarter than children after all.

It’s here that Twitterites from all walks of life — from movie fans to sports fans to Twi-hards — zeroed in on one specific gag, juxtaposing a silly question to Cohen’s absurd and troubling response. And thus a meme was born.

https://twitter.com/nickusen/status/1100885282310758400

https://twitter.com/LessIsMoh/status/1100835204954914816

https://twitter.com/OmarMinayaFan/status/1100857485576032256

https://twitter.com/mrevandaniel/status/1100867881871511552

https://twitter.com/mattbooshell/status/1100939196527710208

There, we all had a good laugh. Now let’s get back to freaking out over Cohen’s final statement, in which he told us, “Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020, that there will never be a peaceful transition of power.”