The Republican National Convention is underway, where the nation’s freakiest ghouls gather to make bizarre speeches and plot the future destruction of the planet. We’re halfway through and things have already gotten seriously odd, with the cherry on top being Kimberly Guilfoyle’s surreal screaming speech delivered to a largely empty room. It seems that this was too out-there even for Trump’s campaign, with his advisors describing it as “strange” and “weird.”
Further eyebrows were raised by an appearance by Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the gun-toting couple who made news as they threatened protesters walking past their home. They claimed that the Democrats want to “abolish the suburbs” and would bring “crime and lawlessness” to our streets. Strong words from a couple who are facing felony charges for unlawful use of a weapon.
It’s been a circus so far, and many users on social media were reminded of the society shown in The Purge movies. So much so that the franchise began trending nationally soon after the convention began.
https://twitter.com/ColtonLHaynes/status/1298131296946753536?s=20
Why does this look like its from the Purge! https://t.co/OT985ztCYx
— TRAV (@_TRAV23) August 25, 2020
Amazing. I wake up and see "cocaine," "Adderall," "the purge," and "Uncle Tom" all trending, and I immediately know they're all connected to the #RNCConvention2020.
— Craig Rozniecki (@CraigRozniecki) August 25, 2020
Every speaker at the RNC looks like the people who created the purge pic.twitter.com/kCSLe3X0aQ
— Anthony (@AnAntLife) August 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/liszella/status/1298458770217947137?s=20
I watch just a little bit of the RNC and I legit thought I was watching the Purge.
— MissPRDiva (@missprdiva) August 26, 2020
I went to bed early because I was mentally exhausted. But I woke up to Lovely Bones, The Purge, and Uncle Tom trending. What the hell happened while I was sleeping? đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/Ce0CpzloaQ
— Monica C. 💅🏾 (@Muchalu) August 25, 2020
If you watched the B-version of “the Purge” last night and walked away believing that Joe Biden is the second coming of Fidel Castro, then you should probably call 911 immediately. You need to get the Kool-Aid pumped from your stomach ASAP! #RNChaos
— Convicted Felon Trump (@ConvictDTrump) August 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/sofiaalisaxo/status/1298436038713585664?s=20
https://twitter.com/APotatoChipJr1/status/1298224004558356480?s=20
Honestly, they couldn’t have picked a better series to reference. As the Purge franchise has developed, the films have become explicitly political, finding their feet as a scarily accurate mirror for Trump-era America. For example, the most recent entry, 2018’s The First Purge, takes place on Staten Island, its heroes are people of color and the villains are racists dressed as the Klan and Nazis. It’s well worth a watch.
All of which makes the next film in the franchise – The Forever Purge – one to look out for. This is intended to be the final entry in the Purge series and was originally scheduled to be released on July 10th. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused it to be delayed a whole year until July 9th, 2021. That may mean it’ll miss out on being the final word on Trump’s presidency. Though let’s face it, Joe Biden probably won’t be much better.