Donald Glover Fans Took Over Donald Trump Fans' Subreddit & It's Incredible
The reddit gods have apparently been working their magic online and trolling fans of President Donald Trump in the process. On May 20, Donald Glover fans took over the r/TheDonald on Reddit, and by May 22, the forum had been effectively repurposed into a praise fest for the African American actor and artist. This is a different sub from the r/The_Donald, which is a more official subreddit devoted to Trump fandom.
Apparently, the moderator of r/TheDonald had been relatively inactive, and a user by the name of SvennoBenno seized the moment. "The Donald," wrote SvennoBenno, posting a photo of the actor. "Upvote this so that people see this when they Google 'The Donald'."
Once the suggestion was out there in the Reddit world for users to see, the idea caught on. "I really hope this sub gets taken over and becomes a Donald Glover sub," wrote a user by the name of PixelSpy. Another user, Weacron, also approved, commenting, "This is a pretty nice hijack." Within a day, the post had garnered over 46,000 upvotes and over 900 comments.
A second comment in the r/TheDonald subreddit featuring a photo of Glover also went viral, this one by a user named Bob Turducken. As of writing, it had gained 73 percent upvotes, with over 45,000 upvotes total and over 1,200 comments. Other users chimed in, commenting with requests of formal petitions to convert r/TheDonald into a fan page for the actor. The trend continued to catch on until the entire subreddit, which was supposed to be devoted to the president, was filled with comments, images, and memes of Glover.
Some users tried to stop the Glover tide from pouring over into the whole subreddit, petitioning the moderator to step in and restore it to its original Trump-focused purpose. "This sub is for Trump not Glover," one user pointed out, but to no avail.
Several others were simply confused as to what had become of the subreddit that was once all about Trump. One user inquired why Glover's likeness had taken over the forum, adding, "Why aren't the mods doing anything about it?" As KnowYourMeme points out, one editor — called a Redditor — brought up the takeover on a different subreddit, asking the community what had happened to r/TheDonald. The explanation given: That the moderator had been inactive for 19 days, leaving the r/TheDonald subreddit to its own devices. According to KnowYourMeme, r/TheDonald was started in 2013, and had gained 16,000 followers, so when the takeover happened, it was swift.
"Mods asleep. Upvote the REAL one true Donald," one user wrote on r/TheDonald, sharing an image of Donald Duck. "The revolution has come," wrote another. And apparently the takeover was wildly more popular among users than the Trump-centered content had been. As one user put it: "This sub has been living rent free in my mind since May 20, 2018." Once the Pandora's box had been opened, there was no turning back. Users began populating the subreddit with everything but Trump fandom. More than a few even mentioned the idea of Glover for president. (One even posted an image of the Childish Gambino enamel pins he was making, and I won't be surprised if those get big, too.)
Some users seemed to come up with their own ideas about what the moderators might be feeling in the last day after seeing their forum get hijacked. "The Mod(s) Right Now," wrote one user, sharing a meme of the eponymous Dexter's Laboratory cartoon character crying. "MFW a God Just Takes a Subreddit," said another. In fact, within 24 hours, it seemed that the subreddit takeover was so successful it had actually fooled more than one user into thinking it was originally designed for Glover fans.
"Hey, is the place for all things Donald Glover?" asked one user on May 22. "I'm new to this subreddit. Is it all just bashing Trump or is there actual politics and such on here?" wrote another. "All I'm seeing are pictures of Donald Glover and Trump-bashing posts so I'd just like to know."
One user's comment basically summed up the takeover: "Make America Gambino Again."
