RIP, Biden memes: How the VP awakened the internet's most earnest humor
Joe Biden is leaving office, and with him go the Biden memes.
The internet, predictably, is already mourning. Even President Obama acknowledged the end of an era as he presented Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom last week. "This ... gives the internet one last chance to talk about our bromance," he said. (It took that chance, heartily.)
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It's not difficult to guess why the internet will take this loss so hard. First, and perhaps most depressingly, there's no clear replacement: policy aside, it's nearly impossible to imagine vice president-elect Mike Pence eating ice cream, laughing or enjoying anything.
Therein lies Biden's appeal as a public figure: he is a serious, veteran leader who also enjoys life. Eats a sh*t-ton of ice cream. Does not eat that ice cream delicately.
And that means he's highly meme-able.
Biden became perfect foil for President Obama, a man so poised he often seems unflappable. Meme Biden was weird Uncle Joe, the prankster -- the perfect goofball "brother" to Obama's straight man.
Better yet, the two really seemed to care for each other: a united front who were also united friends.
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After Trump's victory, Meme Biden's role became more pointed. He assumed the role of the internet's slightly petty ally, plotting elaborate pranks and schemes not for any real reason -- just to push the president-elect's buttons.
To progressives feeling crushed and helpless in the wake of the election, Meme Biden's antics became a reason to finally laugh a little, a silver lining where none could really ever exist.
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Of course, there's also The Onion's Biden: a muscle car-loving, Icehouse-swilling nostalgia hound who hitch-hiked to the DNC and spent his last day in the White House searching for his missing pet snake. But even "Diamond Joe" is strangely earnest.
"Gotta get her looking good so I can impress the chicks when I'm cruising down Pennsylvania [Avenue]," he says of his hypothetical Trans-Am.
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In fact, there's a unmistakable sincerity in most Biden memes, an emotional transparency that dovetails with Biden's warm public personality. That warmth isn't just limited to pranks and finger guns, either: Biden, one of the most powerful people in the world, can't help but express himself. He has no poker face -- he hasn't thought that far.
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And as a big Jumbotron pops up in front of the Lincoln Memorial, that sincerity -- that trademark Biden joy -- is something the internet wants, just before the Trump era kicks in, to celebrate.
So long, VP Biden. And thanks for all the memes.
Chloe was the shopping editor at Mashable. She was also previously a culture reporter. You can follow her on Twitter at @chloebryan.
