A figure known only as "Orange Jesus" has started trending over social media, but who is he and why is he trending?
Spoiler alert: It's Donald Trump.
Sometimes abbreviated as OJ on social media, the phrase "Orange Jesus" used in respect to former US president Donald Trump has spread like a riot throughout social media since they were first said late Monday night.
"The things we do for the Orange Jesus": What Republicans do for Trump
The phrase gained popularity due to it being used by Republican Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney, who has been vocal in her opposition to the former US president despite him still holding preeminence in the Republican Party.
Speaking to a conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, Cheney recounted a story of how Trump was referred to by a fellow Republican representative in the House as "Orange Jesus" in the Republican cloakroom on January 6, before the Capitol insurrection began.
Liz Cheney describes what was happening in the Republican Cloakroom on Jan. 6.One member said under their breath:“The things we do for the Orange Jesus.” pic.twitter.com/NvniqtFVCd
— The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) September 19, 2022
She described being surrounded by sheets of paper that people would come in and sign. A staffer explained that those were objection sheets, since so many people wanted to show up they would object. One of the House representatives who came in and signed one of the objection sheets said under his breath "the things we do for the Orange Jesus."
The choice of phrase is humorous in and of itself, as it references how many people consider Trump as being "orange" in color, as well as his position of power and influence among Republicans. However, it also reflects what many consider to be a serious problem among the GOP.
"Bit by bit, excuse by excuse, we're putting Donald Trump above the law. We are rendering indefensible conduct normal, legal and appropriate - as though he were a king."
GOP Rep. Liz Cheney
King Trump and the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago
Cheney explained that Republicans have gone out in full force to defend Trump following the recent FBI raid on his Florida estate of Mar-a-Lago, seizing several documents, including classified ones, that Trump had taken with him from the White House.
The fact that he kept these documents in Mar-a-Lago is the issue, as he was very much not allowed to do that. However, as Cheney pointed out in her speech, as reported by NBC, Republicans are "willing to condemn FBI agents, Department of Justice officials, and pretend that taking top-secret SCI [sensitive compartmented information] documents and keeping them in a desk drawer in an office in Mar-a-Lago, or in an unsecured location anywhere, was somehow not a problem."
She continued: "Bit by bit, excuse by excuse, we're putting Donald Trump above the law. We are rendering indefensible conduct normal, legal and appropriate - as though he were a king."