People love to mock the very serious Mike Pence, who can’t even do a VP debate without attracting The Fly and inadvertently sparking an avalanche of jokes. So of course, when confronted with the very serious situation of receiving Pfizer’s COVID vaccine, some roasting ended up following him there, too.
On Friday morning, Pence and his wife, Karen (a.k.a. “Mother”), rolled up their sleeves for the shot on live TV. The sitting VP (who wrote six months ago on the White House’s website that a “second wave” isn’t a thing) has changed his tune. He sat beneath a sign that said, “SAFE and EFFECTIVE,” and he declared, “I didn’t feel a thing.” Pence followed up by expressing hopes that his display “will be a source of confidence and of comfort to the American people,” and that “these days of hardship and heartbreak will, in a day not too far in the future, be put in the past.”
BREAKING: Vice Pres. Mike Pence receives COVID-19 vaccine. https://t.co/D3NZXWFj5S pic.twitter.com/dDWzaLUMi0
— ABC News (@ABC) December 18, 2020
There’s lots of layers there, including some dark takes from both the right and the left on Pence’s dramatic change of heart. Then there are, well, the jokes… because Mike Pence wore short sleeves, which is something that he customarily does not do in public. It was strange! People definitely had some reactions, including a hearty, “Ladies, welcome to the gun show” and “Mother” jokes and beyond. And remember all of the right-leaning commentary that seemed “threatened” by Michelle Obama’s arms? Yep.
Ladies, welcome to the gun show pic.twitter.com/3eEAc2YPLX
— Angry_Dad (@angrydad_94) December 18, 2020
https://twitter.com/JayInTheWorld/status/1339921422790111238
https://twitter.com/StellaStar711/status/1339937809495371776
this is the first time i’ve seen mike pence’s arms and i’m uncomfortable. https://t.co/Yy6PTvVVGp
— nick arenare (@nickarenare) December 18, 2020
whoa just realized i’ve never seen mike pence’s arms https://t.co/bTBBlNtBvr
— Gavin Purcell (@gavinpurcell) December 18, 2020
Here we have Mike Pence recieving the vaccine in one of his newly installed arms pic.twitter.com/RgGIybTSum
— rob berenato (@trexpizza_) December 18, 2020
@vp could benefit from some diet and exercise tips from @MichelleObama. She has amazing arms.
— Mr. Precedent (@MrPrecedent) December 18, 2020
Mother let him show his arms in public? Shameful.
— MReiss (@MReiss13411181) December 18, 2020
The poor Fly appears to have lost the spotlight.
https://twitter.com/EdwardJHiggins/status/1339920771418877952