California Rep. Eric Swalwell has found himself in the middle of a political scandal…well, would we call this a scandal? I think perhaps I’d sooner dub this a political hiccup. Or, better yet, let’s just call it what it is: a viral butt burp.
(You know we couldn’t end 2019 without some sort of totally bizarre yet also totally hilarious live TV gaffe, right?)
The Democratic lawmaker was in the middle of a live interview with MSNBC news when he appeared to let one rip.
The unexpected fart obviously caught the attention of viewers everywhere and ignited the now-viral hashtag, #FartGate. Because there’s nothing we love more than someone messing up bad on live TV.
However, according to Buzzfeed News , Swalwell insists we’ve got it all wrong and there was no farting at all, which is just what someone who passed gas on live TV would want us to think…
On Monday night, Swalwell appeared on “Hardball with Chris Matthews” to debate President Trump’s 2016 election.
However, as the lawmaker was in the middle of backing up his own stance on the matter, a loud noise seemed to interrupt him.
It went down like this:
“Chris, so far the evidence is uncontradicted that the president used taxpayer dollars to help him cheat —” fart “—an election.”
The clip quickly went viral on social media as people speculated it was the Democrat who had quite loudly passed gas.
The most damning evidence (beyond the fart itself, of course) is the fact that Swalwell appears to react to the fart with a brief pause in speech as he fights the urge to smile.
He then tries to continue, but I think it’s safe to say the damage was already done.
Thus, #FartGate was officially born.
“This is a flagrant violation of the United States Clean Air Act of 1970,” Western Caucus tweeted in response to the viral video.
Another Twitter user added, “The sheer precision and dominance to drop such a meaty fart on national TV should be celebrated and admired for all its glory. The pause after ‘cheat’ is perfection, poetry in motion. The lack of smirk after the blast must have took years of training, simply magical.”
Swalwell has since defended himself against #FartGate and insists he’s innocent.
Buzzfeed reporter Addy Baird reached out to Swalwell via text message and sent a video of the alleged fart, writing, “I’m really sorry about this but I have to ask if this was you or someone in the studio.”
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In response Swalwell said, “It was not me!!!! Ha. And I didn’t hear it when I was speaking.”
Of course, the whole thing WAS caught on camera so Baird pointed out that he certainly looked guilty on TV.
However, Swalwell was not about to change his story and replied that he “def did not hear” the fart, despite seemingly reacting to his booty blunder the moment it happened.
The official “Hardball with Chris Matthews” Twitter account has since attempted to clear Swalwell’s name, too.
The program tried to convince people that they weren’t hearing a loud fart coming from the lawmaker. Instead, that noise was actually coming from a “mug scraping across the desk” in the studio.
This prompted Swalwell to respond with an all-caps tweet reading, “TOTAL EXONERATION!”. However, he may want to slow down and check out the reactions first before he starts celebrating.
To say the internet wasn’t convinced is a huge understatement.
“Swalwell pauses an flinches at the exact moment someone lightly drags a mug across a desk instead of just picking it up like a regular person,” one Twitter user wrote. “What an insane attempt at saving Swalwell.”
Another added, “A farting coffee mug? Well that’s a new one. When I scrape my mug across the desk it sounds like a mug scraping across the desk.”
Look, I’m not going to sit here and say Swalwell did or did not fart on live TV because only he really knows for sure.
But, if I may, I would like to briefly quote my brother circa 2001 and end on this eloquent and perhaps incredibly damning fact: whoever denied it supplied it.
h/t: Buzzfeed News
