Last Thursday night's televised January 6 hearing was arguably the most explosive yet, full of revelations that were highly incriminating of former Republican President Donald Trump, and also holy wow did you see that hot dude in the audience?!
No disrespect to the House Select Committee on January 6, who did yet another admirable job of connecting more sprawling dots about Trump's failed coup attempt, but the evidence doesn't seem to be what stuck with most people on the internet.
Rather, it was a certain audience member seated behind the witnesses testifying, who bore a striking resemblance to Superman's alter-ego Clark Kent and instantly went viral because the internet could barely contain themselves.
\u201cWho on earth is this? #IsHeSeeingAnybody\u201d— Andy Cohen (@Andy Cohen) 1658456012
Dang, Andy.
the thirst is real GIF by RealityTVGIFsGiphy
The hearing included the testimonies of two former Trump Administration officials, national security advisor Matthew Pottinger and deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews, who both resigned on January 6 because of what they witnessed in the White House during the coup attempt.
But compelling as their two cents may be, it was no match for the Clark Kent-lookalike seated behind Pottinger and Matthews, who totally and utterly stole the show as far as the internet was concerned. Absolutely nobody could focus on the task at hand.
\u201cThis is everyone\u2019s phone right now, right?\u201d— Jonathan D. Lovitz (@Jonathan D. Lovitz) 1658449591
Even normally staid and august media outlets were like "👀👀👀what's his @?"
\u201cSeriously \u2014 does anyone know who this Clark Kent ringer is? Asking for a friend\u2026 https://t.co/fpZOO5LzKg\u201d— MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) 1658466481
Clark Kent 2.0 drew so much attention that "Clark Kent" began to trend on Twitter, and soon theories began to crop up about who the gentleman might be.
Some thought, with no shortage of devastation, that he might be a young Republican squiring Matthews around DC.
\u201cThe rumor is Clark Kent walked out with the blonde lady who was a witness. \nThat means he's probably a repub & now my heart is breaking. \ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude3e\ud83d\udc94\nWhy Clark why? You could have been so beautiful.\u201d— Gov. Kay Ivey's Lil Smith & Wesson (@Gov. Kay Ivey's Lil Smith & Wesson) 1658459572
And New York Magazine writer Yashar Ali broke several hearts when he reported that Clark Kent is definitely not single.
\u201cThe good looking man sitting behind Pottinger is not single.\n\nThat\u2019s all I will say and that\u2019s all you need to know!\u201d— Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18 (@Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18) 1658456403
But that did little to quench the internet's thirst.
\u201cWhoever invited Clark Kent to the January 6th hearing, thank you.\u201d— Amya (@Amya) 1658453991
\u201cI keep waiting for the guy behind Pottinger to whip off his glasses and tear his shirt open to reveal the S underneath.\n\nIt even looks like he's about to do it!\n\n#ClarkKent #Jan6thHearings #Jan6thCommitteeHearings\u201d— We Have Problems (@We Have Problems) 1658457388
\u201cCan we make a rule for future 1/6 hearings to never ever place Clark Kent behind any of the witnesses so I can actually hear what they\u2019re saying? Thanks.\u201d— Michellemybelle IS PRO CHOICE (@Michellemybelle IS PRO CHOICE) 1658460545
\u201cJust came to Twitter to confirm who hot Clark Kent is\u2026 #January6thHearing\u201d— Kate Logan (@Kate Logan) 1658449632
\u201cOk yes Trump is guilty....BUT WHO IS THIS...Ok Clark Kent!! #January6thHearing\u201d— Trap Selena (@Trap Selena) 1658449542
\u201cBeing gay and on Twitter means that you have zero idea if American democracy will survive but you do know that there was a very attractive guy with Clark Kent glasses at the latest January 6th hearing\u201d— Grant Ginder (@Grant Ginder) 1658457616
\u201cPottinger: I was disturbed by what the President tweeted and was worried our foreign enemies may take advantage of our vulnerabilities. \n\nTwitter: Ummm sure but\u2026who is that absolute Clark Kent of a snack behind you. \ud83d\ude0d\ud83e\udd75 #Jan6thCommitteeHearings\u201d— Maegan (@Maegan) 1658457421
Although not everyone was on board, taking a wait-and-see approach to Mr. Kent until they know a bit more about him--namely his party affiliation.
\u201cI will not be wantonly lusting over that Clark Kent guy from the January 6th hearing until I see his party registration \n\nMy thirst has boundaries\u201d— Qondi (@Qondi) 1658509770
\u201cBefore y\u2019all start thirst tweeting. You need to find out who \u201cClark Kent\u201d voted for #January6thHearing\u201d— The Ooh Aah Aah Sensation (@The Ooh Aah Aah Sensation) 1658450920
\u201cPlease tell me the handsome Clark Kent guy isn't a Republican. I need some good news after watching this craziness.\u201d— K'Cee \ud83c\udf39 (@K'Cee \ud83c\udf39) 1658452338
His identity, though not confirmed, has since been likely revealed--he's thought to be a 23-year-old medical student from Ohio doing a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health.
No word on his party affiliation though, so the internet might want to keep its thirst on ice just to avoid any further heartbreaks. You can't be too careful with these DC types nowadays!