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What's The Jeb Bush Election Map Meme? Jeb's 'Flawless Victory' And 'Sweep' Explained
American politician and businessman Jeb Bush did not win the 2016 Presidential Election. However, all these years later, the meme that shows him celebrating with his arms open wide in front of a filled-in electoral college map still embodies "flawless victory."
As the 2024 Presidential Election is upon us, it's fun to reminisce on a more innocent time when George W. Bush's brother was a contender for commander in chief.
As we all know, that didn't work out so well. Instead, we have this exploitable meme, satirically showing Jeb celebrating his "sweep" across the country.
So, where did this Jeb Bush meme come from? Why did someone make this and why was it funny? Is it still funny? Let's explain.
What's The 'Jeb Bush Flawless Victory' Meme?
The meme in question shows Jeb Bush, the former Governor of Florida and member of the Bush political family, leaning back with his arms open wide celebrating a complete sweep of America's electoral college map.
Essentially, the meme humorously pretends that Jeb Bush won the 2016 Presidential Election by a landslide. History buffs, however, know the truth.
Jeb Bush objectively ran a pretty abysmal campaign when he squared off against Donald Trump who famously beat him while calling him names the entire time. But, perhaps the final nail in Bush's campaign coffin was the notorious clip of him begging his supporters to "please, clap."
All in all, the Jeb Bush Flawless Victory meme riffed on the downfall of his campaign in real-time as it became increasingly apparent that the then-unlikely (but objectively more charismatic) Trump would get the nomination.
Where Did The Jeb Bush Meme Come From?
The original meme was created by an anonymous user on 4chan in September 2016. It was posted to the controversial imageboard /pol/.
As for the source image – in which Jeb Bush looks like he's falling backward or about to let out the longest Yeah Boy ever – it's from a 2016 town hall that Bush held in New Hampshire before the primary.
Why Is The Jeb Bush Meme Still Relevant?
For starters, the Jeb Bush meme lives on today because the U.S. is still very much inside the Trump era. The former President lost in 2020, but as he takes on Vice President Kamala Harris this year, what happened to Jeb eight years ago still feels close for many.
However, the meme has also evolved over the years and it isn't used exclusively for political humor. For instance, many people have made redraws of the original image. This allows different subcultures to make jokes about their favorite characters having "flawless victories" of their own.
Also, viral trends have sprouted that are directly based on the Jeb Bush meme. The most notable is the Morbius Sweep, which was at the heart of the 2022 Morbius craze when a film so bad was ironically painted as the biggest box office smash ever recorded.
What's The Jeb Bush Meme Template?
For your meme purposes, here's a transparent PNG file of Jeb Bush's victory pose:
For the full history of Jeb Bush Flawless Victory, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.
