* Hannah Meisel…
Wearing a tailored suit (though no tie), Illinois’ billionaire governor JB Pritzker is already a bit out of place in a school hallway. As he surveys the area—a makeshift COVID vaccine clinic at a high school near Chicago—he attempts to give a compliment equivalent to “I love what you’ve done with the place!”
Everything from the TV cameras to the gaggle of other elected officials in the cramped hallway makes the scene wholly unnatural, which Pritzker matches with his awkward, stilted praise.
“Well, great. This is awesome and I love the spacing out,” the governor says, seemingly grasping at straws. “You’ve got it all worked out. You’re in a relatively small area, which is (pause) phenomenal.”
But superimposed above Pritzker’s head are 23 words that transform the otherwise forgettable 10-second video clip: “When your boy just broke up with his girlfriend and you go to his new 75 sq. ft. apartment for the first time.”
It’s the first @pritzkermemes TikTok video I saw back in early December when the newly created account broke through to those of us in the world of Illinois government and politics. And after eight years of covering this stuff, I immediately wondered if the account was a creation of Pritzker’s re-election campaign; it’s not outside the realm of possibility for a politician to hire some Gen Z kid to play up his “dad” image on a platform that’s far outpacing any other social media among young people—a voting bloc that has been low-participation for decades.
Go read the rest before commenting, please.
* And this is such a great shot…
Caption at will.
- Not a Superstar - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 11:28 am:
Sorry, can’t do a full pat-down for a wire here in public.
- JB Whisperer - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 11:37 am:
Whatever your politics. Two pretty nice and decent guys. Its fine if they aren’t besties in the political wars. More important to me is they are both decent human beings.
- MisterJayEm - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 11:39 am:
“And I’ll pray for you, too.”
– MrJM
- Donnie Elgin - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 11:43 am:
“You have been, and always shall be, my friend”
- 47th Ward - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 11:44 am:
“Indicted. I still can’t believe it.”
“I know, me neither.”
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 11:47 am:
“Show business?”
“Show business”
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 11:49 am:
“In the next life…”
“Go get ‘em, Jim”
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 11:53 am:
“To Lincoln”
“To Lincoln”
- Cool Papa Bell - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 11:57 am:
Just remember… Only one of has voted for Madigan to be Speaker of the House.
- Been There - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:00 pm:
Correctly doing the High Five is not as easy as it looks as demonstrated by two older white dudes.
- Dan Hill - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:00 pm:
And sometimes when we touch,
The honesty’s too much…
- Bruce( no not him) - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:01 pm:
I told you not to touch me there. That’s where I keep my wallet.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:01 pm:
“Freemasons greet”
- conspiracy theorists, maybe
- John on the Spot - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:08 pm:
Duuuuudeeee.
Dude.
- West Sider - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:12 pm:
‘Alleemande left, and now Do si do’ the Dance of the 4 Tops
- fs - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:14 pm:
Governor Pritzker and Leader Durkin dutifully engage in a morning wire check
- Louis G Atsaves - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:18 pm:
No, me first for a change.
- Huh? - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:22 pm:
I’m good. You go ahead. You’re gonna need all the help you can get.
- Amalia - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:25 pm:
Pritzker and Durbin playing political football
- Res Melius - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:27 pm:
Let us unite in prayer that they keep that federal spigot flowing.
- Chicago Cynic - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:27 pm:
47 for the win!
- Pot calling kettle - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:33 pm:
“Jim, I lifted the requirement for facemasks, including the hand versions.”
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:38 pm:
==it’s not outside the realm of possibility for a politician to hire some Gen Z kid to play up his “dad” image==
Pat Quinn took that one step further while Governor (and most likely LG), hiring youngsters and promoting them to high-level positions instead of giving them to more experienced personnel.
- Homebody - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:43 pm:
Reminds me of the Joe Biden memes during the Obama presidency (including the numerous Onion arcticles about Joe and his Camaro). I’m a fan, if only because it hopefully makes the idea of state and local government closer to the front of the mind of a younger generation.
- OneMan - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 12:58 pm:
==it’s not outside the realm of possibility for a politician to hire some Gen Z kid to play up his “dad” image==
Was both disappointed and happy to find this was the case. Have to say it is one of the more entertaining TikTok accounts.
- filmmaker prof - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 1:04 pm:
I love this photo. We need more of this. Two guys who fight toe-to-toe on politics, but can still be friendly and civil to each other away from the arena. What I see in this photo is mutual respect. You don’t have to love or even like each other to still respect a worthy opponent.
- SouthSide Markie - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 1:35 pm:
“You wished Hannah Meisel a happy birthday today? Me too.”
- Rudy’s teeth - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 4:09 pm:
“I want people to talk to one another no matter what their difference of opinion might be.”
Studs Terkel
- danray - Monday, Mar 7, 22 @ 5:31 pm:
Durkin leaves no fingerprints.