A man became an internet icon after he held up a can of soup at a protest following a police officer’s fatal shooting of Daunte Wright. The protester’s comment was apparently in reference to a widely mocked claim by President Donald Trump that demonstrators throw soup at police.
A video of a CNN broadcast from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, posted to Twitter on Thursday had 1.7 million views, 7,000 retweets, and 32,400 likes within a day.
“I am just standing here today with soup for my family,” the protester tells the reporter while holding up the can of soup and winking at the camera. He’s wearing a head covering and Patagonia jacket.
“We are just watching all of this unfold and it is very unfortunate,” the protester continues.
“You are not planning on using that are you?” the reporter asks. “Throwing it at the police?”
“Like I said, it is for my family,” the man says.
“Literally for your family,” the reporter says, nodding. “All right.”
The video, shared by Twitter user @therealssgjoker, was captioned, “I don’t think that can of soup is for his family.”
Twitter users linked the video to a clip of Trump claiming that protesters throw soup cans instead of bricks at police.
“A can of soup, you can really put some power into that, right?” Trump says. “And then when they get caught, they say, ‘No, this is soup for my family.’”
Many users facetiously defended the protester and joked that they had shared soup with him later that night as family members.
“I am his son and we’re eating the soup right now,” one user tweeted.
Others saw the clip as a thirst trap and expressed their admiration for the protester’s sly and confident wink to the camera.
“This is so sexy. I can’t describe it. The man was ready for his moment and didn’t hesitate,” one user wrote.
“He’s handsome, charming, and clearly a great provider, going out to get soup for his family like that,” another commenter said.
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