It has been a weird day.
The White House and the Republican-controlled Congress pulled their healthcare bill, the American Health Care Act, after it became clear it wouldn’t pass a floor vote in the House. It was a total failure for both President Trump, who enthusiastically supported the bill, and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who unveiled the failed legislation a few weeks ago.
There has been a lot of great behind-the-scenes reporting on the bill’s eventual death. There has been a lot of humorous side commentary.
Unfortunately, the two blur together sometimes, and satire can be mistaken for fact.
In the interest of keeping the two separated, let’s make this absolutely clear: Ryan did not leave the White House Friday in a vehicle blaring Papa Roach, contrary to a joke circulated on Twitter the evening.
ooof the kicker on this New York Times story… pic.twitter.com/YO6Wq3k5vK
— Justin Halpern (@justin_halpern) March 24, 2017
No such thing happened. It is just a joke, courtesy TV writer Justin Halper.
For those who don’t remember, Papa Roach is a band that had a hit in 2000 called “Last Resort.” The song, which is about cutting or something, had a decent guitar lick, but that’s the only praise it deserves.
At any rate, Paul Ryan did not leave the White House Friday listening to an angsty turn-of-the-millennium pop song. The clearly photoshopped image was just a gag, but a lot of people fell for it.
It got to the point where the image’s creator had to make it explicit that he was just kidding around.
“I honestly thought my Paul Ryan/ Papa Roach photoshop joke was obvious, but, I was wrong. He is SUCH a tool it was believable,” he said on Twitter.
You’ve been warned. Don’t let yourself be fooled.
