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Shapiro’s Self-Promotion Madness (Updated)
“Barbie Guy” is the Winner
In a landslide victory, “Barbie Guy” takes home the championship.
And though the video might have won, it still serves as a stark reminder that Gov. Josh Shapiro has wasted taxpayer dollars on this cringy content.
As the budget deadline looms over Harrisburg, please make sure to remind the governor and his fellow lawmakers that there is a better use for tax dollars than wasting them on the governor’s ceaseless self-promotion.
🚨 It's the FINAL ROUND of Shapiro's Self-Promotion Madness!
— Commonwealth Foundation (@MyCommonwealth) March 31, 2025
This is your last chance to VOTE to crown @GovernorShapiro's cringiest taxpayer-funded social media video.
Our finalists are:
👠 He's a Barbie Guy
🙄 Gen-Z Governor
Videos and more info are in the thread ⬇️
March 31, 2025
The Final Match: “Barbie Guy” vs. “Gen-Z Gov”
“Gen-Z Governor” advances to the final round, where it will face the number-one seed, “He’s a Barbie Guy.”
Who’s going to take home the championship?
Vote now to find out.
“Barbie Guy” Advances; “Gen-Z Gov” Faces “Shapiro Bombs”
March 27, 2025
The number-one seed—“He’s a Barbie Guy”—continues to dominate, easily defeating “In Da Clerb” by 25 points and advancing to the finals!
Next up: “Gen-Z Governor” versus “Shapiro Bombs.” Will “Gen-Z” continue to triumph, or will Shapiro Bombs pull off an upset?
It's the semifinal round of Shapiro's Self-Promotion Madness! Help us crown @GovernorShapiro's cringiest taxpayer-funded social media video.
— Commonwealth Foundation (@MyCommonwealth) March 24, 2025
Facing off now:
👠 He's a Barbie Guy
🪩 In 'da Clerb
Videos and more info are in the thread ⬇️
“Shapiro Bombs” Wins; the Final Four is Set
March 24, 2025
“Shapiro Bombs” emerges victorious and advances to the next round, joining “Gen-Z Governor,” “In Da Clerb,” and “He’s a Barbie Guy” in the final four.
Voting for our next matchup—”He’s a Barbie Guy” versus “In Da Clerb”—is live.
Click here to vote now!
Gen-Z Governor Advances!
March 20, 2025
The third matchup was a nail-biter. But “Gen-Z Governor” defeated “Lip-Sync Nonsense,” advancing to the semifinals. It will face off against the winner of this next contest: “Shapiro Bombs” versus “Not Always Sunny in Philadelphia” in the final matchup of the first round.
Click here to vote on the cringiest Shapiro content!
It's round 3 of @GovernorShapiro's Self-Promotion Madness! Help us crown the cringiest of Shapiro's taxpayer-funded social media videos.
— Commonwealth Foundation (@Liberty4pa) March 17, 2025
Pick the one that makes you cringe the most:
🙄 "Gen-Z Governor"
👄 "Lip-Sync Nonsense"
Videos and more info are in the thread ⬇️
“He’s a Barbie Guy” Wins
March 17, 2025
The winner of our second match is “He’s a Barbie Guy,” with 66 percent of the vote! It will face off with “In Da Clerb” in the semifinal round to determine which one goes to the final.
But first, the third round of voting is now live. “Gen-Z Governor” and “Lip-Sync Nonsense” face off.
Click here to vote.
“In Da Clerb” Wins
March 13, 2025
We have our first winner—and it was a blowout! “In Da Clerb” won by a whopping 76 percent!
The next round of voting is up. This time, “He’s a Barbie Guy” faces off against “Double-Talk.”
Click here to vote.
It seems @GovernorShapiro loves posting videos to Tik Tok. Unfortunately, his content is often cringe-worthy.
— Commonwealth Foundation (@Liberty4pa) March 11, 2025
We’re pitting his top 8 cringiest videos against one another, and you get to vote on which is the cringiest! It's Shapiro’s Self-Promotion Madness!
Up first: “In Da…
Shapiro’s Self-Promotion Madness
March 11, 2025
If there is one thing that Gov. Josh Shapiro loves, it’s social media. The governor—thanks to his taxpayer-funded, nine-person “digital strategy” team who makes nearly $900,000 annually in salaries alone—has curated quite the public persona on TikTok, Facebook, and X/Twitter.
Unfortunately, his content is rarely informative and interesting. Instead, most of the governor’s posts are—as the kids say—”cringe.” Cringe is “when someone acts … or is embarrassing or awkward,” states Urban Dictionary. “It makes you feel extremely ashamed and/or embarrassed.”
This March, we’re pitting the governor’s top eight cringiest videos against one another. Each round, two videos will face off, and voters on Twitter/X can vote for the “cringiest” of the two.
After each round of voting, we will post updates for the bracket here on the Commonwealth Foundation blog.
Vote now by heading to our Twitter/X account and scrolling down to the first post. There, you will find a poll as the first post in a thread that also includes the two videos that are competing to “win.”
Thank you for voting!
The Contenders
# 1: He’s a Barbie Guy
Taxpayers can rest easy, knowing their governor tackles the hard questions, such as, “Which is better: Barbie or Oppenheimer?
#2: In Da Clerb
Not all of Shapiro’s videos are well-polished. Some are just bloopers and outtakes, which raises the question: How much time does the governor spend filming these videos? Sorry, Josh—we ain’t “all fam.”
#3: Gen-Z Governor
In true “how do you do, fellow kids” fashion, Shapiro panders to young voters, using Gen-Z slang. Sorry, Pookie—your website isn’t bussing.
#4: Shapiro Bombs
Shapiro loves his bomber jacket—so much that he made a video about it. But much like most of his other social media content, this one bombs.
#5: Not Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Rise and shine! Shapiro pitches canned cocktails in gas stations and grocery stores. Who’s bright idea was it to make this video?
#6: Lip-Sync Nonsense
Shapiro lip-syncs dialogue from Parks and Recreation to promote Pennsylvania tourism. Ron Swanson would disapprove of this nonsense.
#7: Jet Ski Josh
Shapiro wants everybody to visit Pennsylvania. But he rides off on his jet ski before explaining what the commonwealth offers tourists.
#8: Double-Talk
The governor chats with the one person responsible for his lackluster record: himself. It’s two Shapiros for the price of one (plus his $900,000 taxpayer-funded social media team).
As you can see, the competition is cringetastic. Even worse, all these videos were funded by your tax dollars. Perhaps it’s time for the governor to put his phone down and get back to work.
Let the cringe begin!
Check back here for updates!
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