Former congressmen and 2020 Democratic hopeful John Delaney got a lot of screen time during the first round of the second Democratic presidential debates last night.
Delaney tried to push a more moderate vision of where he thinks the party should go when compared to some of the progressive policies proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
And while the boost in visibility may have been what he wanted, it also meant people following along with the debate had time to think about what fictional characters he looked like. And there were quite a few suggestions.
One of the more popular lookalikes was Bill from King of the Hill.
John Delaney before the debate vs. John Delaney after the debate pic.twitter.com/xHE81NxA9i
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) July 31, 2019
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/1156384940625408000
Delaney. Can't unsee it. #demdebate pic.twitter.com/FxNrGQR04m
— Jon Gabriel (@exjon) July 31, 2019
https://twitter.com/BlackChuckTodd/status/1156377176549163008
Other people thought he resembled the inflatable pilot from Airplane (and other characters from the movie).
https://twitter.com/baxbooksdeux/status/1156406672056696832
John Delaney looking very much tonight like Stephen Stucker from the AIRPLANE! films. pic.twitter.com/0etRNCCrEk
— Adam Bonin (@adambonin.bsky.social) (@adambonin) July 31, 2019
Some even thought Kermit the Frog was a lookalike for Delaney.
I prefer Kermit T. Frog. #Delaney #meme pic.twitter.com/MxheFR2x1S
— Ari Ezra Waldman (@ariezrawaldman) July 31, 2019
The nematodes from SpongebBob SquarePants also got a shout out.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – John Delaney is a nematode #demdebate pic.twitter.com/mwEPfk6cs2
— kb 🪩 (@kbeans_) July 31, 2019
To be fair, other candidates also got compared to lookalikes including: Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) being compared to Marlin from Finding Nemo, and “a Family Guy character.”
Mayor Pete Buttigieg was compared to Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory.
It remains to be seen how Delaney’s performance in the debate will impact his poll numbers, but its safe to say the internet is now aware of his campaign.
READ MORE: