A meme, pared of its particulars, is democracy making fun of itself. And during the eight years of the Obama presidency in the United States, there has been no public figure who has lent himself so readily to memery than Vice President Joe Biden. You can attribute that to a combination of factors—his genial, expressive face; his persona’s mixture of frankness and affability; the fact that he occupies an office that lends itself especially well to fan-fictional speculation; his general intolerance for malarkey—but they have resulted, all in all, in Biden becoming, in the worst way and also the best, a running joke.

One of the most common memes goes like this: Take a picture of Obama and Biden together—bonus points if Biden looks giddy, and even more if points if Obama looks reluctant. Add dialogue—usually something that will get at the idea of Biden being childlike and needy and mischievous, and of Obama, decades younger and yet much more the adult, keeping his vice president in check. Apply it to the State of the Union. Or, really, to anything.

The aftermath of the 2016 election has given that time-honored formula renewed life, as people who are disappointed with the outcome of the hard-fought contest have channeled their frustrations through Biden—and through, specifically, the elaborate revenge fantasies they have imagined on his behalf:

Joe: I'm going to ask Donald if he wants something to eat

Barack: That's nice, Joe

Joe: And then I'm going to offer him knuckle sandwiches pic.twitter.com/xYJ0k2QTX6 — Jill Biden (@JillBidenVeep) November 13, 2016

Biden: Ok here's the plan: have you seen Home Alone

Obama: Joe, no

Biden: Just one booby trap

Obama: Joe pic.twitter.com/BgZ4lCoqg4 — Male Thoughts (@SteveStfler) November 13, 2016

Biden: You know he needs an official gov't phone right? Imma give him a Note 7.

Obama: But Joe, don't those....

Biden: Exactly. pic.twitter.com/HFXzpSN9Kj — Tatiana King Jones (@TatianaKing) November 13, 2016

Biden: Hillary was saying they took the W's off the keyboards when Bush won!

Obama: Joe put-

Biden: I TOOK THE T'S, THEY CAN ONLY TYPE RUMP pic.twitter.com/D6Vh7Zu429 — Josh (@jbillinson) November 13, 2016

biden: cmon you gotta print a fake birth certificate, put it in an envelope labeled "SECRET" and leave it in the oval office desk

obama: joe pic.twitter.com/UTtv1JkE5o — jomny sun (@jonnysun) November 11, 2016

Obama: Did you replace all the toiletries with travel size bottles?

Biden: He's got tiny hands Barack, I want him to feel welcome here pic.twitter.com/e7NRIZ43Ww — Josh (@jbillinson) November 11, 2016

Biden: I took a Staples red button & wrote "Nukes" on it



Obama: Joe!



Biden: Tweets to him in Russian when pressed pic.twitter.com/j7rdFd1tXs — Crutnacker (@Crutnacker) November 13, 2016

Joe: Yes, that was me.



Obama: Please stop.



Joe: I will not stop. This room will smell so bad when he gets here.



Obama: Joe...



Joe: Nope. pic.twitter.com/49WkhsUwvr — Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) November 12, 2016

Biden: What if we paint the Mexican flag in the office

Obama: Joe, no

Biden: I already ordered the paint

Obama: Joe pic.twitter.com/mCCh6OPQRk — dan // pinned if unf (@tragecies) November 11, 2016

It’s democratized fan-fiction, basically: The Onion’s absurdist imaginings of “Diamond Joe,” only with this version of the vice president being, basically, an overgrown kid. And, as the best memes will do, all the jokes suggest something at once silly and profound: Over the weekend, they became an excuse for people both to wallow in their sadness and to transcend it. CNN offered “The 11 most soothing Joe Biden memes for a post-election America.” US Weekly announced that “Barack Obama, Joe Biden Memes Rule the Internet Post-Election.” The Huffington Post explained that “Joe Biden Trolls Trump In Bittersweet Post-Election Meme.” Mashable put it more bluntly: “Joe Biden plotting against Trump is the meme America needs.”