Nancy Mace’s Embarrassingly Awful Take on the “Cheating CEO” Meme

By now, I’m sure you’ve seen the video of Astronomer CEO Andy Byron getting caught at a Coldplay concert intimately embracing his company’s chief people officer Kristin Cabot — a woman who is definitely not his wife. Both execs are currently on leave as Astronomer investigates the situation and not surprisingly, the internet has been flooded with “cheating CEO” memes.

South Carolina representative Nancy Mace, a staunch Trump defender who is not without controversy, decided to join in the fun and post her own “cheating CEO” meme. But I don’t think you’re prepared for just how bad it is.

No, your eyes do not deceive you. In an attempt to highlight increased employment numbers, Mace really thought it was a good idea to use the image of two adulterous execs to promote the benefits of Trump’s economy for America’s working class.

Somehow, she completely missed the fact that the cute-looking relationship in that screencap is actually going to be the cause of a lot of pain for a lot of people — which doesn’t really seem like the sort of message a pro-Trump politician ought to associate with Trump’s policies. (Did she really not have anyone on her staff who could’ve pointed that out to her?)

Now, I suppose the image is technically appropriate given Trump’s long history of infidelity, but I sincerely doubt Mace was trying to be meta or ironic here. Rather, it’s yet another example of a Republican cluelessly using pop culture to try and score some points. Consider it a real life MAGA version of “How do you do, fellow kids?”

Good cultural hermeneutics is a thing, people, and Nancy Mace and her fellow Republicans could really use a 101 course on it, lest they keep embarrassing themselves with bone-headed posts like hers. Then again, embarrassment requires a certain level of self-awareness that really seems to be in short supply with the current crop of Republican officials.