Here Are Some of the Artistic Memes From the Third Presidential Debate That Made Us Laugh

From a Trump presidency "starter kit" to a helpful Artemisia Gentileschi riff.

Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gestures to the crowd as she walks off stage as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump smiles after the third U.S. presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on October 19, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tonight is the final debate ahead of Election Day on November 8. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Last night’s third presidential debate was no joke. Headlines afterwards dwelled on Donald Trump’s jaw-dropping assertion that he might not recognize Clinton’s legitimacy in the increasingly probable event that she becomes the 45th president of the United States. There were plenty of meme-worthy moments aplenty, though, from the hour-and-half hurly burly. Here’s a window to a few of the artsy ones.

Artist, writer, and curator Willa Köerner, taking a deep breath beforehand:

Painter Wendy White expressing her solidarity with a portrait:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLw-8EOBzLr/

And getting a rather less conventional portrait in return:

Designer Michael Suen:

Artist Nicole Nadeau, also picking up on Clinton’s dress and its precedents in the political imagination:

And critic and curator Ed Halter with something that is more of a commentary on her performance, we think:

Film critic Mario Alegre, on Trump’s comment that lax immigration was letting “bad hombres” into the country:

And, of course, the Internet went crazy deliberately mishearing the comment as “bad ombres.” Filmmaker Geoffrey Stevens:

Some speculation about what Trump was writing, from Glenn Howerton (aka Dennis from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia), passed along by art critic Annie Raab:

And another one from Raab:

Jeanette Hayes, who always has something out there:

Artist Nayland Blake, responding to the exchange on whether Trump was a “puppet” of Putin:

Painter Chris Bors, lampooning Trump and picking up on Clinton’s accusation that he was crying “crocodile tears:”

Curator Cambria Floyd on what may be the most infamous two words of the night:

Plenty of people picked up on this, from journalism prof Andrew Lih:

And this really could be a work of art:

Sculptor John Powers expressed confidence that Clinton had pummeled The Donald:

Art + Auction editor and critic Sara Roffino, assessing the night:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLxIPI7Ar1V/?taken-by=sararoffino

And art historian Jessica Bell Brown, summing up the meme-material of the evening:

 


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