Already he's spiraling.

[Ostap]

"We believe in breaking down our enemies psychologically. That's why I'm going to DM Putin and say, oh, my god, I loved your outfit the other day. Was that old navy? Already he's spiraling. He's like, "do they think I'm poor?""
link with timecode

Hello,
This is from a Saturday Night Live episode. Biden and White House staff are looking for ways to fight back Russian propaganda in Ukraine. Then the new secretary of defense, a young female blond, is suggesting the idea in the quote above. What does the red part mean?

 

[emsr2d2]

"We believe in breaking down our enemies psychologically. That's why I'm going to DM Putin and say, 'Oh no comma here my god, I loved your outfit the other day. Was that Old Navy?' Already he's spiraling. He's like, "Do they think I'm poor?""
link with timecode

Hello.
This is from a Saturday Night Live episode. Biden and White House staff are looking for ways to fight back against Russian propaganda in Ukraine. Then the new Secretary of Defense, a young blonde female, blond, is suggesting the idea in the quote above. What does the red part mean?

Note my corrections above. I think it's supposed to mean that, once someone had said the stuff about the outfit, Putin would be in some kind of downward spiral. He'd feel insulted, perhaps.

 

[probus]

Shot down.

 

[Ostap]

I have just realized - is the "old navy" here actually the brand? That is, "Old Navy"? If so, does Old Navy offer available clothing, or something like that? (Is that why the "poor"?)

 

[probus]

Old Navy is an American chain of clothing stores. It features lower prices than its parent company, The Gap, which itself is not very pricey.

 

[Ostap]

Old Navy is an American chain of clothing stores. It features lower prices than its parent company, The Gap, which itself is not very pricey.

It seems to me then she was teasing the brand here, not Putin, meaning if you're wearing Old Navy you're poor.

 

[probus]

Wearing Old Navy clothes does not mean a person is poor. And you cannot tease a brand. Only living things can be teased.

Jokes cannot be explained, or if they are, they are no longer funny.

 

[Ostap]

Wearing Old Navy clothes does not mean a person is poor. And you cannot tease a brand. Only living things can be teased.

Jokes cannot be explained, or if they are, they are no longer funny.

As I understood, the point of the joke was that she intended to bring him down by suggesting he was wearing Old Navy, which would make him think he looked poor.

 

[Skrej]

Someone who is very affluent and presumably has access to both high-end clothing as well as tailored clothing wouldn't be shopping off the rack at a box chain store like the "common people".

The joke is that by insinuating such, Putin would lose all focus and go into an emotional downward spiral about his appearance, thus distracting him from political machinations. Note that the setup references psychological warfare.

However, the real joke is poking fun at the US administration's ineffectiveness by suggesting they're so inept as to have made an air-headed valley girl the US Secretary of Defense.

The entire skit is mocking propaganda and misinformation (from both the US and Russia), as well as portraying the Biden administration as not having a firm grip on reality.

 

[Ostap]

Thank you for the replies. I'd like to also ask about "already" in the red part. Does it emphasize how fast Putin started spiraling? Like, she hadn't even finished saying that to him but he was already spiraling. Is that the idea?

 

[SoothingDave]

No, it means as soon as she says the Old Navy comment, he starts spiraling.

 

[Tarheel]

Maybe they think Putin is emotionally fragile.

 

[probus]

Maybe they think Putin is emotionally fragile.

Ya think?

 

[Tarheel]

No. I don't think he is. (Maybe that's not what you meant.)

 

[Tarheel]

No. I don't that joke is funny at all. Stupid maybe.

 

[probus]

No. I don't think he is. (Maybe that's not what you meant.)

Putin is famously thin-skinned.

 

[Tarheel]

OK.

 

[Glizdka]

As someone's who's seen Putin, in a picture, once, I can confirm he does NOT wear Old Navy; he wears Old KGB.

 

[Tdol]

Wearing Old Navy clothes does not mean a person is poor.

Making it a smear of the Russian economy, whose leader can only afford the cheapest tat to wear. It's not much of a joke, though..

 

[Ostap]

Already he's spiraling.

Could "already" be substituted with the following with the same meaning?

In a moment/instant, he's spiraling.