The Lights Went Out While Trump Was Talking & Twitter’s Jokes Were Dark As Hell

For those seeking a little humor in our bleak political climate, an incident from President Trump's Tuesday press conference must have been a welcome break. The room unexpectedly went dark in the middle of the president's remarks, after which Twitter started swapping jokes about why the lights went out on Trump.

The president used the address to walk back remarks he'd made during a joint press conference with Russia's President Putin on Monday in which he suggested that he didn't "see any reason why it would be" Russia that attempted to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election. After suggesting that the country could be innocent, he argued on Tuesday that he'd meant to use a double negative: "I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia."

"Let me begin by saying that the full faith and support for America's intelligence agencies — I have a full faith in our intelligence agencies —" Trump began on Tuesday, when suddenly the White House Cabinet Room went black.

"Woops, they just turned off the lights. That must be the intelligence agencies," he quipped. The moment only lasted about five seconds, but it briefly threw off the room's occupants. "You guys OK?" Trump asked. "That was strange."

Incidents like these are, of course, Twitter gold. Social media erupted with laughter — and some darkness of their own — on Tuesday.

We're Living The Satire Genre

Veep is a satire that follows a U.S. vice president, whereas House of Cards is a drama about political intrigues.

A Classic Trump Admin Dropout Rate Jab

According to Business Insider, 23 top-level administration officials had voluntarily left or been fired as of the beginning of July, about a year and a half into the Trump presidency.

Some Theories About What Happened, From Divine Intervention ...

Both presidents and deities now communicate through Twitter.

... To Former Presidents Stepping In ...

Those guys never really left the White House.

... To Putin ...

Of course this joke was going to turn up.

... To John Kelly Making A Statement ...

Chief of Staff John Kelly is famously one of the main figures in the White House trying to restrain some of Trump's brash behavior.

... To X-Men

That moment when you think you're living in a hellscape but it turns out to just be a Marvel movie.

Some Thought It Was Symbolic

Storms hit D.C. heavily on Tuesday.

And Even A Portent

Democrats have a chance to take back control of Congress in a blue wave during November's midterm elections.

Some Didn't Think It Went Far Enough

Why have ghosts when you could have aliens?

Some Said It Hid The Real Story

Many viewers argued that Trump seemed like a hostage unwillingly reading a statement when he walked back his remarks on Russian election meddling on Tuesday. Axelrod is referencing Jeremiah Denton, a Vietnam War POW who famously communicated the word "TORTURE" in a video interview during his imprisonment by blinking in Morse code.

ABC News reports that it was, in fact, John Kelly who turned out the lights in the White House Cabinet Room (though presumably he didn't do so intentionally). We all accidentally bump into light switches sometimes — but it rarely provides such perfect fodder for comedy.