As the second day of hearings for the confirmation of potential Justice Amy Coney Barrett got underway this morning, it was expected that the questions would take center stage. Instead, reaction to an empty notepad went viral.
At one point during the hearings, Barrett cited various judges, cases and laws as she described her career and how she would rule as a justice of the Supreme Court. As Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), began questioning Barrett, he commented on the notebook in front of her and asked her to hold it up, noting that most Senators had multiple notepads to reference.
“Is there anything on it?” Cornyn asked. “The letterhead says United States Senate,” Barrett replied. The notepad she held up was completely blank other than the letterhead printed on the top of the page.
“That’s impressive,” Cornyn commented.
Social media exploded, igniting countless memes and tweets about the empty notepad, enough to fill a roomful of notepads.
The President’s son, Don Jr. tweeted, “Unlike Joe Biden, Amy Coney Barrett doesn’t need notes or a teleprompter to remember her positions.”
The Republican Party of Kentucky tweeted a meme of Barrett holding up the notepad superimposed with “#FILLTHESEAT,” saying they “couldn’t believe what she wrote!”
On the opposite side, Comedian Kathy Griffin posted the photo with the caption “Judge Amy Coney Barrett holds up photo of her brain scan.”
Viral moments aside, Barrett handled the Senators questions with ease, and addressed concerns regarding whether President Trump had spoken to her about potential cases. “I’ve made no commitment to anyone about how I would decide any case,” Barrett said, noting that the President and his staff had not discussed how she’d rule on any specific cases.
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