UPDATE: 2:30 p.m.: The denizens of the Internet had a lot of takes after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton barked like a dog Monday at a campaign rally to mock her Republican rivals.
The former secretary of state told a crowd gathered in Reno, Nevada that Republicans “actually say” that the last recession was caused by too much Wall Street regulation. She then launched into a story about one of her favorite political ads that culminated in her best impression of a barking dog.
“One of my favorite political ads of all time was a radio ad in rural Arkansas where the announcer said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if somebody running for office said something, we could have an immediate reaction as to whether it was true or not,” Clinton said. “‘Well, we have trained this dog. And, the dog, if it is not true, he is going to bark.’ And the dog was barking on the radio and so you know people were barking at each other for days after that.”
Clinton said she wished she knew how to do that for Republicans.
“We need to get that dog and follow them around and every time they say these things like, ‘Oh, you know the Great Recession was caused by too much regulation—'” she said before proceeding to bark.
The conservative site RedState covered Clinton’s bit under the headline, “Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Just Bark Like a Dog, She Barks JUST LIKE a Dog! (Seriously. It’s Uncanny.)” The Gateway Pundit wrote that “Grandma barks like a dog for votes!” and posted a 20-second YouTube video loop of Clinton’s barking. Meanwhile, The Independent Journal Review challenged its viewers to edit videos of Clinton barking with a promise to share the best clips.
Twitter users veered from panning Clinton’s bit to literally comparing the former secretary of state to a female dog:
Why am I not on the air the day Hillary Clinton barks like a dog? #comedygods. @nightlyshow
— Larry Wilmore (@larrywilmore) February 16, 2016
Some candidates only seem barking mad. Others take it to a more literal degree. https://t.co/gCeAPhF6Xu
— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) February 16, 2016
Guys, @CalebHowe has unearthed video of @HillaryClinton speaking in her native tongue >>> https://t.co/FyEiIbvDny #WhoLetTheDogsOut
— Jim Minardi (@AMillennialMind) February 16, 2016
#Hillary Barks Like Dog in Attempt to Denigrate Reps https://t.co/nc01XaLRD6 If She Looks Like a Dog/Barks Like a Dog, Must be a BIT** #tcot
— John Betts (@JohnFromCranber) February 16, 2016
Note to prez candidates, esp women: Never bark like a dog. Ever. No matter what. @CNNPolitics https://t.co/9eKJnSPYGj #barkslikeadog#HRC
— kathleenparker (@kathleenparker) February 16, 2016
Bustle, a website aimed at millennial women, characterized the coverage of Clinton’s bark as “a sinkhole of sexism that this country can’t afford.”
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump weighed in on Clinton’s comments during his campaign rally on Tuesday, saying that “there’ll be no barking.”
“If I ever did that, I would be ridiculed all over the place,” Trump said.
Watch Clinton’s comments below:
