Australia's Weirdo Prime Minister Tackles Child to the Ground, Birthing New Meme

 Scott Morrison is up for re-election this coming Saturday.

Photo: Asanka Ratnayake (Getty Images)

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison tackled a small child to the ground during an election photo-op on Wednesday. And it’s safe to say that we’re seeing a new meme format being born in real time.

Morrison, a right-wing weirdo who pals around with QAnon conspiracy theorists, was campaigning in the state of Tasmania on Wednesday when he showed that tiny soccer player what’s what. The incident is remarkably similar to an incident in 2015 when UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson ran over a 10-year old during a rugby match photo-op.

Photos and video of the incident immediately hit social media platforms, with people poking fun at the Morrison’s bizarre stunt. Why was Morrison playing soccer with children? Your guess is as good as ours, to be honest. But since the prime minister recently described himself as a “bulldozer,” today’s move seems particularly fitting.

The conservative Morrison, leader of the big-L Liberal Party, is up for re-election and has been campaigning hard. Australians go to the polls this Saturday, and Morrison is running neck-and-neck with Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese, a man who is proving to be tougher competition than the child the prime minister absolutely crushed today.

There’s video of the tackle if you really want to see how it landed in the real world.

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This isn’t the first time that Morrison has been turned into a meme. Last year, the PM went on the radio to deny that he’d ever shit his pants at McDonald’s. A Twitter meme claimed Morrison shit his pants at a McDonald’s in Engadine, New South Wales in 2019. That story went viral just before Morrison was first elected in 2019 and he cruised to victory.

If you’re looking for other photographic versions of Morrison’s tackle to turn into your own meme, we’ve got you covered. Click through for plenty of other shots from today’s bizarre incident.

And if you’re an Australian citizen, don’t forget to vote on Saturday. Australia has compulsory voting, meaning you’ll get fined if you don’t. It’s quite different from the U.S. system, where one party relies on keeping people from voting in order to hold on to power.