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Actor David Cross—best known for playing the "Never Nude" Tobias Funke on Arrested Development—trolled Republicans and Democrats alike by appearing in a parody video in which he played far-right politician Mark Finchem, a member of the Arizona House of Representatives who participated in the January 6 insurrection.
Cross-as-Finchem jokes at one point in a fake interview with Fox News personality Tucker Carlson that former Republican President Donald Trump offered to pardon him for his role on January 6 if he ran for Secretary of State in Arizona, saying that "if I win I get to pick the winners!”
But the joke was lost on people like former professional basketball player and social media influencer Rex Chapman despite the very obvious "Faux News" graphic at the bottom.
You can hear what Cross said in the video below.
\u201cTucker Carson interviewed Mark Finchem. Endorsed by Trump \u2026\u201d— Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc (@Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc) 1666106618
Cross said:
“Look, I was there on January 6. When Donald Trump personally asked me to run for Secretary of State, my first reaction was: ‘Pardon me?’"
"Literally, when he said he would pardon me if I helped him win, I was like, ‘I’ll do it.’ Well, the Secretary of State counts the votes, and uh, if I win I get to pick the winners!”
“And look, we all know that Huge Chavez and ANTIFA have been messing with voting machines, and we need someone to spend millions of dollars in taxpayer money that we can prove it."
"And that’s me! And the other Republicans running for Secretary of State across the nation — I mean, Trump endorsed us all — Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, he loves us all."
"He says we're perfect."
Many people thought the video was for real.
\u201cDangerous!! \nFinchem states T***p would pardon him if he let T***p win. \n\nPlease vote Democrat to keep democracy alive!!\u201d— BindyShay \ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@BindyShay \ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1666138656
\u201cTucker wants the anti-democracy fascists to win..\u201d— Khashoggi\u2019s Ghost \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b (@Khashoggi\u2019s Ghost \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b) 1666126074
\u201c#VoteDemocratStraightDownTheBallot or we have lunatics running the country.\u201d— Duncan Scott (@Duncan Scott) 1666153187
\u201cIf I win, I get to pick the winner. Saying the quiet part out loud.\u201d— Mark Carter (@Mark Carter) 1666192679
\u201cTell me this isn't a cult...\u201d— Matt_Hardie (@Matt_Hardie) 1666129366
But others caught on to the joke immediately.
\u201cDavid Cross is awesome \ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\u201d— Jon Hendricks (@Jon Hendricks) 1666184950
\u201cIdk Finchem here kinda looks like a guy that would wear jorts in the shower\u2026\u201d— melia \ud83c\udf0a (@melia \ud83c\udf0a) 1666187176
\u201cThat is 100% Tobais from AD \ud83e\udd23\u201d— mel \ud83e\uddd9\ud83c\udffc\ud83e\udd87\ud83d\udd77\ud83c\udf83 (@mel \ud83e\uddd9\ud83c\udffc\ud83e\udd87\ud83d\udd77\ud83c\udf83) 1666190127
\u201cThis is great!\u201d— Lethal Selecta (@Lethal Selecta) 1666192935
The video was launched by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) Super PAC and MeidasTouch.
PCCC co-founder and the script's chief writer Adam Greene praised Cross's performance, saying he "routinely nails things on the first or second take. He said Cross is "very good at helping us lean into the things that are truly funny" and "was very good at helping us accentuate the things that would really kind of pop."
The real Finchem has not commented on the video. He is a member of the Oath Keepers, the far-right anti-government militia whose members participated in the attack on the United States Capitol.