Yikes…
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va) got in on TikTok’s “aura farming” trend, posting a clip of himself dancing solo in the congressional subway, captioned “omw to hold this administration accountable.”
In the short clip, Subramanyam appears on the House subway wearing sunglasses, striking poses and waving his arms before locking in on the camera.
@repsuhas 📍 live from the house subway to the capitol
Subramanyam’s “aura farming” appears to have backfired, with some commenters calling it out as tone-deaf, hypocritical and “cringe.”
Left-leaning viewers frustrated with perceived inaction from Democrats under President Donald Trump didn’t hold back against the VA-10 congressman in the comment section. One of the top-liked comments asked flatly, “By doing nothing…?” Another read, “Representatives have got to stop doing this. Actually do something.”
Several comments mocked the tone and delivery of the video. One read, “-1000 aura,” while another said, “Our taxpayer money hard at work…” Another commenter wrote, “So what exactly are you on your way to do? Because so far democrats have not really done anything at all.”
A top comment simply read, “This feels weird idk.”
One lengthy reply said, “Not trying to be disrespectful. But? Less of this sh–. More fire on the floor please. I get wanting to do outreach. But this? Isn’t the action an average American needs from their representatives right now. We’re approaching no taxation without representation territory here. Do better.”
Another simply suggested, “Introduce a new amendment for every one performative TikTok a Congress person posts they have to cosign 3 bills that work to limit the power of money in politics.”
The “aura farming” trend, popular among Gen Z and Gen Alpha, refers to pulling off effortless, cool gestures usually while standing still. It took off after a now-viral video of 11-year-old Indonesian boy Rayyan Arkan Dikha danced stone-faced and confident while wearing sunglasses aboard a racing boat.
