Budd Dwyer "Bag Lunch" Copypasta

Content Warning: Portions of this article make mention of suicide, which some may find difficult or upsetting. If you need support or are dealing with suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's website or call 1-800-273-8255.

About

Budd Dwyer "Bag Lunch" Copypasta refers to a copypasta and snowclone written from the perspective of a person viewing the suicide of Budd Dwyer, blissfully unaware of what's about to happen. The copypasta reads, "ahh yeah here he comes, big double d, r budd dwyer himself, looks like he brought a bag lunch, smart." The "bag lunch" refers to the envelope in which Dwyer concealed the gun he would use to shoot himself. Since the post was first made on Twitter in 2015, it has often been edited to suit public appearances and press conferences from celebrities in difficult situations.

Origin

On August 19th, 2015, Twitter user @BAKKOOONN^[1] tweeted, "ahh yeah here he comes, big double d, r budd dwyer himself, looks like he brought a bag lunch, smart," writing from the perspective of being seconds away from watching Budd Dwyer's suicide. The tweet gained over 3,900 retweets and 11,000 likes in over eight years (shown below).

Spread

In the years following the tweet, it saw little use as a copypasta and snowclone. Early examples of the post's use as a snowclone appear in 2020 and refer to a Donald Trump press conference when it appeared he would lose the 2020 Election, though they didn't see much spread. One example posted on November 5th, 2020 by Twitter^[2] user @classfrenemy only gained one retweet and 14 likes in three years (shown below, left). On September 19th, 2022, Twitter^[3] user @hucklebuckets used it about Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel after his team got blown out 41-7 by the Buffalo Bills, seeing mild spread of 13 retweets and 40 likes in one year (shown below, right).

The snowclone began seeing more use in 2023. On April 6th, 2023, WWE Triple H executive was announced to be appearing on Smackdown after Vince McMahon took creative control of the company's shows back from him, leading many to post the copypasta. For example, user @AkLingus^[4] posted it and gained 16 retweets and 119 likes in eight months (shown below, left). On June 27th, Twitter^[5] user @jonbecker_ used it to joke about an upcoming press conference from Steve Cohen, the owner of the struggling New York Mets, gaining 40 retweets and 370 likes in six months (shown below, right).

Additionally, the original @BAKKOOONN tweet is very fondly remembered on Twitter,^[6] as a significant amount of the quote-tweets for it praise it as being one of the best on the site (example by @punisheddaniel shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable

External References