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Home Unlabelled The 'dab' makes an awkward comeback and Paul Ryan learns it's not a sneeze - Washington Post

The 'dab' makes an awkward comeback and Paul Ryan learns it's not a sneeze - Washington Post

1:35 PM

During the swearing-in ceremony for Rep. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) on Jan. 3, one of his sons tried to "dab" in the official photo. House Speaker Paul Ryan asked the teenager if he needed to sneeze as he posed with the family. (Reuters)

In the shelf-life of viral dance moves, the “dab” was supposedly dead long ago. In January of last year, it made its political debut when Hillary Clinton famously demonstrated it on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

But it was already getting old then. In fact, it had been around for so long — used for celebrating touchdowns or goals and during one particular Senate candidate debate — that even its creators agreed in June that it was time to retire the move.

But apparently, until this week, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) had not caught onto the trend.

On Tuesday, the 17-year-old son of a congressman decided to give the dab a comeback, striking the pose after the swearing in of his father, Rep. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), as his family smiled for a photo. Standing next to the teenager and congressman was Ryan, looking utterly confused. And the moment was so visibly awkward it made some C-SPAN viewers cringe. 

“You all right?” Ryan asked, turning toward Cal Marshall, Roger Marshall’s 17-year-old son, as the teenager tucked his head into the crook of his elbow, holding a Bible in his other hand.

“I’m all right,” Marshall replied. The House speaker and newly sworn-in congressman continued smiling for the camera as the 17-year-old held the widely recognized pose.

“Do you want — can you put your hand down?” Ryan asked him.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Cal Marshall said quickly, with a chuckle and smile.

“Were you going to sneeze? Is that it?” Ryan asked.

“Yeah,” Cal Marshall said.

“He’s sneezing,” his father assured the photographers.

In fairness to Ryan, he is notoriously wonky, reportedly choosing budget documents for bedtime reading. And dabbing does look like “you are sneezing but you stick your other arm to the side,” as the Urban Dictionary explains. And young Marshall was really doing a half-dab, since his other arm was occupied with the Bible.

C-SPAN viewers knew it wasn’t a sneeze, though, tweeting about the encounter as a video clip quickly circulated on social media.

Some frowned upon the teenager’s actions, while others praised his bold move. Several noted that his outfit — a red, quarter-zip sweater and khaki pants — was reminiscent of another Internet sensation: Ken Bone, the man who won over America’s heart and meme creators after asking a question about energy at the second presidential debate.

[Ken Bone was a ‘hero.’ Now Ken Bone is ‘bad.’ It was his destiny as a human meme.]

Later Tuesday, as video of the moment spread, Paul Ryan admitted he still didn’t know what dabbing was.

The Atlanta-based rap group Migos claims to have created the dance move, which was made popular in part by football star Cam Newton, who would dab to celebrate touchdowns. In June, the Carolina Panthers quarterback declared he would “have to put that aside.” In an interview with TMZ, even Quavo, a member of Migos, agreed with Newton.


Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton celebrates after scoring a touchdown. (Mark Zaleski/AP)

“You got to give everybody a new trend, a new wave or something new to do so I feel him on that,” Quavo said. “Everybody was copying it and now it’s time to switch lanes.”

Others made similar predictions even earlier. After Hillary Clinton tried the move on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in January, choreographer Fatima Robinson told The Washington Post, “The dab will be done in a minute and then the next thing will be up.”

But, alas, the dab endured. In August, Swedish equestrian Peder Fredricson dabbed at a podium after winning the silver medal in an individual jumping final. The dab made yet another public appearance in October, as Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) was wrapping up her closing arguments against her rival for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, California Attorney General Kamala Harris.

Sanchez spoke over the moderator as he told her that her time was up. “Remember this on Election Day,” Sanchez said. “Don’t vote for the establishment. Vote Sanchez.” And then, inexplicably, she dabbed.

Those watching the debate on television saw Harris bite her lip, her eyes wide.

“So, there’s a clear difference between the candidates in this race,” she said.

[Senate candidate’s debate stage: When in doubt, dab]

As for Cal Marshall, the Kansas congressman’s son, criticism of the teenager’s dabbing did not stop him from reveling in his Internet fame.

The congressman, however, displayed a much less enthusiastic response to his son’s actions.

“Just so you know,” he assured Ryan in a tweet. “He’s grounded.”

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