The Green New Deal is a package of climate and economic proposals that became a full-blown political meme after Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey introduced their February 2019 resolution1. The plan called for a transition to zero-emission renewable energy through investments in electric vehicles and high-speed rail, and its rollout instantly turned into a Twitter fight3.

The term itself predates the AOC-Markey push. Green Party candidate Jill Stein campaigned on a Green New Deal during her 2012 presidential run, and Democrats picked the framing back up after the 2018 midterms3. What made the 2019 version a meme was the reaction: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissively called it 'the green dream,' critics latched onto an FAQ line about 'farting cows and airplanes,' and both sides fed the meme machine for weeks13.

The Green New Deal is invoked less as a template and more as a shorthand punchline in political shitposting. Supporters typically pair the phrase with earnest infographics about renewables and rail, while critics often remix the 'farting cows' line, the Corn Cob GIF, or Mike Lee's Reagan-on-a-velociraptor painting when mocking climate legislation3. On Urban Dictionary the term is even defined as 'the exact opposite of Roosevelt's New Deal,' showing how quickly the phrase turned into a partisan joke4.