In what will surely go down in the annals of “Absolutely No One Asked For This,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita decided to celebrate April Fools’ Day not with harmless pranks or dad-level joke, but with a blatant jab at the LGBTQ+ community. For those who missed it, Rokita took to social media to “joke” that he was swapping out his beloved pro-gun flag for—brace yourselves—a gay pride flag.
Get it? Get it? It’s really funny because… inclusivity is hilarious, right? Nothing quite says “April Fools” like pretending to support equal rights for everyone for a day, no? Gut-busting stuff, really. Actual comedians Jeffrey Dunham, Ron White, or Zach Galifianakis could never hold a candle.
What is impressive, though, is how Rokita managed to distill that much smug condescension and thinly-veiled bigotry into a single Facebook post. In his world, apparently, the idea of standing in solidarity with LGBTQ+ people is so absurd, it qualifies as a punchline.
Not only was it juvenile, it was exceptionally mean-spirited—like a middle-school bully who grew up, got elected, and still thinks mocking people makes him look tough. After all, nothing screams “leadership” like mocking a flag that represents love, safety, and human dignity. It got a few chuckles from the online echo chamber, though, right? So, mission accomplished.
If he had wanted to really surprise us on April 1st, he could’ve posted or tweeted something truly outlandish, like “I’ve decided to be a better human being.” Now that would’ve gotten a laugh!
At the end of the day, this wasn’t a prank, though. It wasn’t satire either. It wasn’t even edgy political commentary. It was just a mean-spirited jab wrapped in the world’s thinnest veil of humor. It was a calculated swipe. It was the political equivalent of saying “no offense” before insulting someone’s whole and entire existence. Rokita knew exactly what he was doing—baiting people, delighting a portion of his base, and flipping the bird to most of us, who believe public service should include an element of basic human decency.
The worst part? This garbage-tier stunt will probably be celebrated in some circles as “owning the libs.” All it really did was reveal what we already knew: that Todd Rokita views inclusion and empathy as laughable, and the LGBTQ+ community are mere props in his ongoing audition for the far, far-right talk show circuit after leaving office.
At the end of the day, maybe he should just leave the jokes to real comedians until he leaves his station as Indiana’s newest Embarrassment-in-Chief — or maybe simply stick to whoopee cushions.