As we approach November, Democrats are working hard to stand united to take down Donald Trump in what might be the most critical presidential election in our nation's history. Blessedly, during Night Two of the Democratic National Convention, one figure proved to have the power to bring all of us together. We are, of course, referencing the calamari platter that stole the show during Rhode Island's portion of the roll call.
According to the Washington Post, Rhode Island's virtual roll call entry was filmed on Oakland Beach in Warwick and featured the state's party chairman Joseph M. McNamara. Though McNamara was the one presenting the state's delegate count, he was very much upstaged by the platter of calamari that was held by a masked man standing to the chairman's left. It seems McNamara didn't mind, however, because he gave the fried squid dish a shoutout in his presentation, referring to Rhode Island as "the calamari comeback state" right before announcing that 34 of the state's 35 delegate votes were for Joe Biden. Apparently, McNamara also once led a years-long campaign to grant calamari official recognition in the statehouse, the Washington Post reports. What else can we say? This guy just loves calamari, and Twitter loved his devotion to the iconic appetizer.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
As is to be expected during an event as important as the DNC, watchers were live-tweeting its best moments, and there's no question that many thought Rhode Island's calamari platter stole the show. Tons of viewers took to social media to simply report that calamari won the night (and possibly even the election), while others shared their sudden, intense craving for the dish thanks to McNamara's segment.
Rhode Island turning their vote into an ad for calamari was the best part of the roll call so far. pic.twitter.com/1xNZsv3yeA
— Gabe Fleisher (@WakeUp2Politics) August 19, 2020
The calamari just got the keynote slot for tomorrow night
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) August 19, 2020
OMG Rhode Island calamari just won the whole election
— alexwagner (@alexwagner) August 19, 2020
the calamari endorsement holds real weight with the Golden Corral community
— ziwe (@ziwe) August 19, 2020
perhaps the most inevitable and unsurprising development this week is that I’m now very hungry for calamari
— Adam Sternbergh (@sternbergh) August 19, 2020
My life is now split: Before Calamari Man and now After Calamari Man.
— Vote! Wear a mask! @🏡 (@mandolynhicks) August 19, 2020
We have to say, it's heartwarming to see so many Dems come out in support of calamari. Hopefully, we can keep that unified energy up for the next couple of months. Could calamari really be the one to save us all from the hellscape that has been the past four years? In 2020, anything is possible.