The Internet Melts Down Over A Picture Of Trump With An Orb

When president Donald Trump touched a glowing orb in Saudi Arabia, he set off an internet firestorm. Dozens of humorous headlines have since had the internet melting down over the image.

The Washington Post even decided to begin their article with a bit of humor, only to firmly declare that to claim what they wrote as fact, would be fake news.

*P.S.: thanks for the clarification, WaPo.

When President Trump laid hands on the glowing Saudi mystery orb, he pledged allegiance to “Its Luminescence,” summoned the forces of Sauron to take over Middle-earth and created an “army of Moderate Muslims to fight terror.”

He did none of that, of course. It would be fake news to say otherwise.

But the conjuring up of magic and memes became irresistible the moment Trump, shrouded in darkness, dared to gaze upon the globe of light, nay, dared to actually touch it.

Why anyone cares what Trump touches and why will always perplex some. But, nonetheless, the internet erupted with memes and jokes about Trump’s glowing orb, and humor is always warranted. In reality, the president was inaugurating the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia alongside the Saudi king and Egyptian president in a ceremony.

The center will digitally monitor extremist activities online, employing specialists in radical ideology and hate speech as analysts. The approach is based on a model used in the United Arab Emirates, according to Axios. More than 200 data analysts work at the center. “We want to convey a message to the West and the world that the Muslim world is not an enemy,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said, as reported by the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya. The new counter-terrorism center, known as Etidal, tweeted from its official account that it is designed to bring “prime technology together with Saudi expertise and international partnership to eradicate extremism.”

And now, back to the jokes. Except, of course, it’s not a laughing matter for some. Several conspiracy theorists believe that the glowing orb grab means Donald Trump is ushering in the New World Order.

But the seriousness of the conspiracy theorists didn’t stop the internet from making jokes, of course. The now infamous “orb touching” set off a litany of humor online. Donald Trump just “lit up” the internet when he grabbed the glowing globe.

“Surrender, Superman or all of Metropolis will be destroyed” pic.twitter.com/g8Gqh3rAm9

— Oliver Willis (@owillis) May 21, 2017

trump 100% made a wish when he touched the orb pic.twitter.com/S0TlxgxtBY

— KRANG T. NELSON (@KrangTNelson) May 21, 2017

Since state photographers were on hand to capture the moment, the internet made sure to respond with comments and memes. Social media erupted and the hilarious response is now trending. Just follow the hastags #TrumpInSaudi and #Orb if you’re interested.

Where have I seen that #TrumpInSaudi #Orb before? Oh yeah… pic.twitter.com/UegLaV0Ofu

— Josh (@awesomeplant) May 22, 2017

Trump was in Saudi Arabia on the first leg of his first foreign tour, which also includes stops in Israel, the Vatican, Belgium, and Italy over the coming days. After spending the weekend in the Kingdom, he flew to Tel Aviv on Monday morning where he hopes to revive the long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, address regional security issues and reaffirm America’s commitment to its alliance with Israel.

The orb probably isn’t the gigantic conspiracy the internet is making it out to be, but it did result in some laughs for your Monday morning. And that’s something we can all appreciate. Plus, it took our minds off the “bowing in Saudi Arabia conspiracy.”