People are loving this CNN commentator's eye roll at a pro-Trump rant

What goes in to a great eye roll?

Whatever alchemic combination is necessary to produce a world-class, “are you fucking kidding me?” look, political commentator and analyst Angela Rye‘s got it down.

For proof, look no further than her appearance on Wednesday’s early-morning broadcast on CNN. There, just hours after Hillary Clinton became the first female nominee of any major political party in American history, Rye responded to a pro-Donald Trump rant from fellow panelist Kayleigh McEnany by rolling her eyes hard enough that the motion could have probably been measured my USGS seismologists.

“I love that we have facts like Libya in disarray, Iraq in disarray, Syria in disarray, all under the tutelage of Hillary Clinton’s State Department. So, if she’s a change-maker, yes, it’s change for the worst,” McEnany declared in response to host Don Lemon’s bringing up Clinton’s legacy as a “change maker.”

She then pivoted to Donald Trump’s accomplishments, saying, “You know, Donald Trump has done great things in his private time, too, for veterans, all across his foundation. He’s done great things, too.”

Rye, however, was having none of it.

She does it all: A stinky side-glare, a blank stare (during which Rye presumably astral projected to a less emotionally taxing plane of reality), the eye roll itself, and finally a glance over to see if anyone else can really believe what they’re hearing. The clip is worth watching a few times to truly digest the arc of Rye’s facial gymnastics.

Rye’s exasperation immediately launched her into viral fame on Twitter:

Speaking with New York magazine, Rye—the former executive director and general council for the Congressional Black Caucus—said that her friends have teased her about her facial expressions for years. “I don’t have the poker face to pretend,” she admitted. Nevertheless, Rye also explained that she’s particularly careful when it comes to on-air interviews, for fear of coming across as “an angry black woman.”

Any concern that the eye roll may have caused bad blood between her and fellow panelist McEnany were soon put to rest by Rye herself on Twitter.

“I think she knows that normally I don’t agree with her,” Rye told New York magazine. “Kayleigh is someone I consider a friend, we get along very well off-air.”

 
Join the discussion...