When Donald Trump dropped a new AI-generated video on X intended as a lighthearted celebration for his base, it quickly became meme fodder, but probably not in the way he had intended.
Recycling his favorite song, The Village People’s “YMCA,” Trump walked into a Cracker Barrel ad and proceeded to shimmy and shake along with “Uncle Herschel,” the company’s old-timey mascot who was recently “retired” in a brand makeover that caused a MAGA firestorm.
Right-wing activists, podcasters, and pundits, including Robby Starbuck and Matt Walsh, came out of the woodwork to blast the company for its “wokeness,” and Cracker Barrel caved under the pressure. It scrapped the new streamlined branding and reverted to the original.
“Hard to believe this is real,” wrote an X user about the entire scenario. In the clip posted by the president to his official X account, he can be seen stoically shaking hands with the overalls-clad mascot, before ditching his suit and tie to bust some moves and pump his fist in the air in what was an apparent victory dance.
Trump’s post garnered over 15,000 comments and it feels like his MAGA supporters abandoned him. One can scroll for nearly a minute before finding a post in support of Trump’s seemingly lighthearted post.
Others on X had a very different plan and used the video as a template for some scathing parodies, mocking his handling of the Epstein files and so much more.
“You’re in a cult,” read one version showing Trump with his arm around Jeffrey Epstein instead of Uncle Herschel. Another shows the mascot sitting next to the message: “Release the Files.” The “cracker” jokes seem to write themselves, with one shot of a saltine cracker photoshopped with Trump’s hair.
If anyone thought the memes had an end in sight, one user had other plans.
“We’re not done yet,” they mused with yet another video mocking Trump.
“Great to know the president’s attention is on the most important things,” read a sarcastic comment, followed by, “Another distraction for the Epsteinth time.”
One threatened to report him, “This is an obscene copyright and patent violation or use this without their consent or compensation. Delete this or I’m reporting it”
Even Vice President JD Vance and California’s Governor Gavin Newsom were dragged into the mix.
The Cracker Barrel controversy began on Aug. 19, when the company unveiled a text-only logo, clueless about the MAGA hate train that was barreling toward them. It was the first time in nearly half a century that the logo had not featured the old-timer relaxing in a chair.
As Donald Trump Jr. asked, “WTF is wrong with Cracker Barrel?” on X, right-wing social media lit up with calls for CEO Julie Felss Masino to step down, citing a nefarious “DEI regime.”
“She should resign and be replaced with leadership that will restore Cracker Barrel’s tradition,” read a post circulated by Trump Jr. that vilified the company for its equitable hiring practices.
Restaurant chain Steak n’ Shake jumped into the fray, putting its competitor on blast for “one of the 21st century’s biggest branding blunders.” Steak n’ Shake’s CEO Sardar Biglari is a Trump supporter — and also one of Cracker Barrel’s biggest shareholders — who lobbied hard against the rebrand.
Feeling the pressure, the Tennessee chain announced on Aug. 26 that it would abandon its new logo and keep the original one intact.
“We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away, and our “Old Timer” will remain,” the company wrote. But the parodies are another story, and show no signs of going away yet. Apparently, poking fun at Trump is just too much fun.
