Did Chasten Buttigieg get punked?

Chasten Buttigieg was a fixture on the campaign trail when his husband, Pete Buttigieg, ran for president in 2020. But nothing was seared into the public’s mind about the candidate’s campaign than the Buttigieg dance.

Supporters’ enthusiastic viral dance was widely mocked online, with pundits and social media users roasting the cavorting backers who swayed to Panic! at the Disco’s “High Hopes” song. A meme was born.

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This is peak 2020.

Critics said the candidate’s campaign perfectly fit the tune. It was also rich fodder for late-night comics and Saturday Night Live, similar to when his attempts to “raise the roof” and do the Timewarp brought the internet to tears of laughter.

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So when Chasten Buttigieg returned to South Bend, Indiana, where his husband was mayor and the campaign’s headquarters, he couldn’t help but notice the hotel’s inadvertent welcome. “High Hopes” started playing in the lobby.

Just got to South Bend.
Walk into hotel lobby.
Overhead radio song fades out.
“High Hopes” comes on.
Am I being punked? pic.twitter.com/wNFTuEDsf5

— Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (@Chasten) August 31, 2023

“Some things are forever,” one person replied to Buttigieg’s tweet.

“Think of it as an audio red carpet,” another shot back.

“i swear, that song knows where we are at every moment. in the past couple of months, i’ve heard it at the airport, at my hairdresser’s, and at physical therapy. there is no escape,” another supporter replied. “we must surrender.”