{"id":334549,"date":"2026-06-13T03:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T03:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/334549\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T03:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T03:44:09","slug":"they-did-it-again-texas-gop-brings-a-real-elephant-to-a-convention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/334549\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018They did it again\u2019: Texas GOP brings a real elephant to a convention"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Texas <\/a>Republican Party has dragged a real elephant <\/a>through its convention, sparking mockery online with some referencing a Simpsons episode.<\/p>\n

Reporters covering the convention in Houston on Friday shared video<\/a> on social media of an elephant, called Paige, walking near the press area wearing a feathered hat and a banner that read, \u201cUnity Drives Victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the elephant was passing along, it peed on the convention floor in front of shocked spectators.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh shoot,\u201d one person can be heard saying in the video. Others couldn\u2019t help but laugh as the elephant continued to pee as it walked forward.<\/p>\n

Local Republicans had gathered at the George R. Brown Convention Center to elect party leaders and prepare for the November midterm elections<\/a>. But all anyone was talking about online was Paige the elephant.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Texas Republican Party has dragged a real elephant through its convention, sparking mockery online with some referencing a Simpsons episode (Texas GOP via X)<\/p>\n

Videos of Paige relieving herself on the convention floor quickly went viral, especially given how eerily similar it was to an episode of the animated sitcom, The Simpsons.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Simpsons did it again,\u201d one X user wrote <\/a>along with a gif of an episode showing an elephant, the mascot of the Republican Party, marching through a GOP convention.<\/p>\n

Banners hung from the stage of the fictional convention that read, \u201cWe want what\u2019s worst for everyone\u201d and \u201cWe’re just plain evil.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Simpsons actually predicted this LMAO,\u201d another X user wrote<\/a>, citing the episode, \u201cBart Gets an Elephant,\u201d which first aired in 1994.<\/p>\n

In the episode, the elephant also walks through a Democratic convention, where the banners read, \u201cWe hate life and ourselves\u201d and \u201cWe can\u2019t govern!\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been a long-running conspiracy theory that the creators of The Simpsons have predicted major events through episodes of the show, most notably the moment President Donald Trump <\/a>rode down the escalator of Trump Tower to announce his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election.<\/p>\n

But the episode where Homer Simpson rode the escalator with Trump actually aired after the president\u2019s big moment in 2015. The show did, however, predict Trump would become president<\/a> in a 2000 episode titled, \u201cBart to the Future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Local<\/p>\n

Local Republicans had gathered at the George R. Brown Convention Center to elect party leaders and prepare for the November midterm elections (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Others on social media took the viral moment from the Houston convention to ridicule the Republican Party.<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernor Abbott closed out his speech at the Texas GOP convention with a live elephant. It then peed on the floor as it left the room,\u201d the Texas Democratic Party wrote<\/a> on X. \u201cThe perfect metaphor for the Texas Republican Party.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others called the Republican Party a \u201cjoke\u201d and said the elephant\u2019s urination was \u201cpoetic justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Texas GOP, meanwhile, lightheartedly wrote<\/a> on X, \u201cWelcome Paige! Thanks for stopping by the State Convention! What a treat for our delegates and guests – it\u2019s one they won\u2019t ever forget!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Independent has reached out to the Texas GOP for comment.<\/p>\n

Texas Governor Greg Abbott<\/a>, who is seeking a fourth term, gave a keynote speech at the convention. During his speech, he told thousands of delegates that Republicans would \u201cdemolish\u201d Democrats in the midterm elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnity is going to drive victory this November, and no one does a better job than you all\u201d at mobilizing voters, Abbott said, per The Texas Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, we will demolish the Democrats. Together, we are going to win in November. Together, we are going to keep Texas, Texas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Governor Greg Abbott gave a keynote speech at the convention Friday, saying Republicans would \u2018demolish\u2019 Democrats in the midterm elections (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Some people on X didn\u2019t find Paige\u2019s viral moment to be a laughing matter.<\/p>\n

Political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen wrote <\/a>on X, \u201cI know this is beside the point, but I have a profound, visceral hatred of anyone or anything that abuses animals, kills them for trophies, or uses them as props.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no clearer indicator of someone’s values than how they treat animals. Parading an elephant through this room is such an apt reflection of today’s Texas GOP.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yashar Ali, a reporter who has contributed to HuffPost and New York Magazine, raised concerns about Paige\u2019s well-being, given elephants’ sensitivity to smell and sound.<\/p>\n

\u201cPutting an elephant into a convention hall like this is torturing it beyond the full comprehension of any human being, because we do not possess the sensory capabilities elephants do,\u201d Ali wrote<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n

Paige is part of the East Texas Elephant Experience in Cut and Shoot, Texas, the New York Post <\/a>reported. She is nine feet tall and weighs about 8,600 pounds, according to the company’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The East Texas Elephant Experience also provides educational programs across the U.S. and has participated in studies to \u201chelp better elephants in human care,\u201d the website reads.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Texas Republican Party has dragged a real elephant through its convention, sparking mockery online with some referencing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":334550,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[119531,145,119533,4195,31095,119535,3270,119534,27,29,28,118689,119536],"class_list":["post-334549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-convention","tag-donald-trump","tag-gop-convention","tag-governor-abbott","tag-midterm-elections","tag-paige","tag-republican-party","tag-simpsons-episode","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-texas-republican-party","tag-the-simpsons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}