Social media memes praise Andy Beshear for his handling of coronavirus

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, there's a new — and unlikely — social media star: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

Bloggers and other creative folks monitoring the rookie governor's performance have taken note of Beshear's mannerisms, word choices and the genteel advice offered to Kentuckians during daily news conferences about the coronavirus, which had infected at least 63 people in Kentucky as of Friday evening.

Need proof? Well, there's an entire Facebook group called, "Andy Beshear memes for social distancing teens."

References to Star Trek, Mister Rogers, Toy Story, Kermit the Frog and other pop culture elements have all featured in the Beshear memes.

And beyond social media fun, Beshear's response to the coronavirus pandemic has garnered attention in the national media. An Associated Press story cited his "buck-stops-here approach to an issue that wasn't even a blip on his political radar when he took charge of the Bluegrass State."

In addition, other state officials who have stood alongside Beshear and spoken during daily COVID-19 briefings are also becoming meme icons.

Those officials include Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack and a guy named "Kenneth" who helps present slides and graphics for Beshear during his briefings (OK, it's not just a random guy but likely Kenneth Mansfield, a member of Beshear's communications team).

Kentucky coronavirus live updates: Get the latest information here

Kentucky coronavirus map: How many coronavirus cases are in Kentucky? Where are they?

And don't forget Virginia Moore, the American Sign Language interpreter who also serves as executive director of the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

On Friday, Beshear even bestowed the title of Kentucky Colonel on Moore.

But getting back to the memes, here are some more. It's further proof that even in the face of a global pandemic, we all could use an occasional laugh — even at the expense of the commonwealth's governor.