/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55985659/822985140.0.jpg)
The news that President Trump has fired White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci just 10 days after hiring him lit up Twitter on Monday afternoon. It’s exactly the kind of chaotic, melodramatic news fodder that makes for prime internet joke-slinging: Trump, acting under the influence of his newly hired chief of staff John Kelly, reportedly allowed Kelly to axe Scaramucci immediately after Kelly was sworn in. And that’s on top of the fact that Kelly has just replaced Trump’s former chief of staff, Reince Priebus, who was himself pushed out of the administration on Friday.
The White House issuing two high-profile pink slips in such a short time span, combined with Scaramucci’s recent notoriety after his jaw-dropping, obscenity-laced phone call with New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza, made the opportunity to comment simply too good for many people to ignore. As the news rapidly swept across the internet, the jokes came from virtually every corner.
That was fast. #Scaramucci (image source unknown) pic.twitter.com/g4V7WFZqpg
— The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) July 31, 2017
Even members of Congress and former White House communications staffers couldn’t resist joining in:
Thank you Anthony @Scaramucci for your service. I speak for a grateful nation when I say “has it really only been 11 days?!?” https://t.co/78ZEWLYrjC
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) July 31, 2017
Unfortunately for the Mooch, the minimum tenure to get invited to the annual WH Comms Directors Reunion is 3 weeks
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) July 31, 2017
It would be hard to encompass the full depth and breadth of Twitter Scaramucci jokes, so we’re not even going to try. Just know that there’s something for everyone, whether your thing is “Bohemian Rhapsody” quips ...
Easy come. Easy Go. https://t.co/BdyVKjpQb9
— Rebecca Sherman (@RebeccAgent) July 31, 2017
... TV references ...
Anthony "The Mooch" Scaramucci will forever be remembered as the "Tori from Saved By The Bell" of the Trump administration.
— Funny Or Die (@funnyordie) July 31, 2017
"The Mooch Gets Fired" pic.twitter.com/xZfMJA6z1T
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) July 31, 2017
Don't cry for The Mooch. Cry for the SNL writers who just lost a golden opportunity. #Scaramucci
— (((Matt Arnold))) (@mattarnoldxvii) July 31, 2017
does Donald Trump genuinely think he is supposed to eliminate someone each week
— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) July 28, 2017
... crude photo memes ...
— leon (@leyawn) July 31, 2017
... schadenfreude ...
The Mooch is out! Let's go live to Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer for a reaction. pic.twitter.com/ILS8mCV0jd
— shauna (@goldengateblond) July 31, 2017
Let he who hasn't started a new job, divorced, cussed out his coworkers on tv and gotten fired in 10 days throw the first stone. #Scaramucci
— Chris Magill (@cmagill) July 31, 2017
Between being canned this week & his wife filing for divorce last week, #Scaramucci is one dead dog away from becoming a country music song.
— Andrea Thompson (@Ldyandrea) July 31, 2017
... poll predictions and pool jokes ...
Congratulations to the 51 people who correctly guessed ‘The Mooch’ in my poll! The rest of you—hey, it’s only Monday https://t.co/xyBMRgR2Mq
— Pinboard (@Pinboard) July 31, 2017
... earnest reactions from people whose initial surprise forestalled any attempts at humor ...
"The Mooch' out as Trump's Communications Director: The most chaotic start to any American Presidency in history has just gotten worse.
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) July 31, 2017
I know we joke abt how working for trump ruins ur life but the mooch has lost his wife, kid, and job and he only started a week ago pic.twitter.com/9uPJQKspJq
— KRANG T. NELSON (@KrangTNelson) July 31, 2017
... or candid responses from people whose initial surprise itself became the joke:
I have never laughed out loud at the news before.
— Paul F. Tompkins (@PFTompkins) July 31, 2017
OVERHEARD: Collective gasps followed by a smattering of laughter in the Senate press gallery as the Mooch news broke.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) July 31, 2017
In the middle of so much “excitement,” it’s easy to overlook a simple, straightforward truth: that the instantaneous nature of the internet allowed millions of social media users to experience and react to the news of Scaramucci’s firing more or less simultaneously. Much like Trump’s #covfefe kerfuffle from earlier this year, the outpouring of Mooch tweets, jokes, and reactions stood in for what was essentially our collective double-take.
And now the continued retweets, “Mooch” hashtags, and meme-ing will serve as a way to keep the shock, drama, and humor of the moment going. It’s possible that the internet’s Mooch joke cycle may last longer than Scaramucci’s actual White House tenure — unless, of course, Trump fires someone else.