Gleeks Candidate Godfrey G Golden — CNN Presidential Debate split screen with Trump, Biden, and a green-tied third candidate

Gleeks Candidate Godfrey G Golden

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Published August 1, 2026

Gleeks Candidate Godfrey G. Golden, also called Joe Glubbin or Green Joe Biden, is a fictional third-party candidate from the 2024 U.S. election, depicted as a photoshopped Joe Biden with a green tie. The meme started in a Reddit dream post right after the June 2024 Biden-Trump debate and spread across X and TikTok through Election Day.

2024 election memes photoshop memes political satire memes absurdist humor memes presidential memes

Overview

Gleeks Candidate Godfrey G. Golden is a fictional third-party presidential candidate depicted as a photoshopped version of Joe Biden wearing a green tie and a grey suit1. The character supposedly represents the 'Gleeks' party, a made-up political faction that has nothing to do with fans of the TV show Glee3. The joke surfaced during the 2024 U.S. election cycle as a bit about what a mysterious third contender might look like sharing the debate stage with Biden and Donald Trump.

The image typically shows a three-panel split-screen with Trump on one side, Biden on the other, and the green-tied Biden clone wedged into the middle as if he were an actual candidate2. Redditors and X users settled on calling him Godfrey G. Golden, while TikTok creators preferred Joe Glubbin, giving the character two parallel identities across platforms3. The absurdity lands because the photoshop is so obvious, yet the meme treats him as a legitimate contender.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit (source) / X and TikTok (viral spread)
Creator
Shawakamigo
Date
2024

The meme started on June 28th, 2024, when Redditor Shawakamigo posted an image to /r/thomastheplankengine with a caption saying they had dreamed after the debate that there was a third party called the 'gleeks'1. The post showed Donald Trump and Joe Biden on stage during the June 2024 presidential debate, with a third onscreen candidate rendered as a green-tied clone of Biden. Shawakamigo said the idea came to them in a dream, and the original post pulled in over 6,200 upvotes across the following five months1.

How It Spread

The image kicked around Reddit for a few weeks before jumping to X on July 18th, 2024, when @334_sandi tweeted the picture with a joke comparing the Gleeks candidate to the third Mario Brother, pulling in more than 78,000 likes2. A retweet by @geomaniac_quote the same day pushed it even harder, gathering over 108,000 likes across four months8.

The joke came back on September 11th, 2024, when X user @DRAXOMOSPHERE reposted the original image with the caption 'What ever happened to this guy?' and hit over 93,000 likes4. TikTok picked it up in October when @cantwiperight uploaded a video captioned 'Definitely voting for joe glubbin this election! #JoeGlubbin2024,' which pulled 309,500 plays and 71,800 likes within a month5.

Closer to Election Day, X user @Trey_Explainer tweeted a doctored Wikipedia entry on November 5th, 2024, that listed the primary candidates as Donald Trump and Godfrey G. Golden, hitting over 11,000 likes in less than 24 hours7. That fake Wikipedia mock-up was first posted to /r/AlternateHistoryMemes by Redditor Ouedouardo on July 22nd, 2024, where it earned about 550 upvotes across four months6.

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How to Use This Meme

Creators typically start with the split-screen debate image and paste the green-tied Biden clone into a third panel, treating him as a legitimate candidate. Common conventions include using the Godfrey G. Golden name in Reddit and X posts while going with Joe Glubbin on TikTok3. People often build out the bit by making fake news graphics, mock Wikipedia entries, or ballot images to sell the idea that the Gleeks party is real7.

Frequently Asked Questions