“That’s American greatness.” – Scandal Gif-Cap

Scandal Season 5, Episode 20
“Trump Card”
Posted by Kim

Good news, everyone. The race for the White House is back in full swing AND I saw Hamilton since the last time I did a gif-cap, so I can now use those gifs and actually know what they mean. Who is going to be in the room where it happens? Let’s get to the gifs and find out.

“This is our country. I aim to keep it that way.” Hollis is leading the primary now. Look at your life, America. Look at your choices.

“It’s like Throwback Thursday: Gladiator Reunion.” Liv and Abby unite so they can shut this madness down.

“No more campaigning against each other.” Then Liv and Abby give each other the fakest goodbyes possible.

“I need something LEGAL on Susan.” Yeah the whole not campaigning things lasts 30 seconds.

“Ceasefire get broken. We need to be protected.” Okay, so the not campaigning against each other IS on but Liv wants to be prepared for the moment it’s OFF.

“We’re gonna have a war on our hands.” #TeamSusan searches for dirt on Mellie so they can be ready too. This gon get nasty REAL quick.

“I brought lunch to you!” David continues the “Kiss Susan’s Ass Until She Forgives Me” 2016 World Tour.

“We are going to burn Hollis Doyle and his hillbilly hate to the ground.” Susan explains why she’s coming up with all sorts of neutral language about Mellie. It’s all about destroying Hollis for the moment. Then they can get back to destroying each other.

All of David’s legalese.

“You want to take me on a vacation?” I mean it’s the least he could do.

“I focus on all the ways I intend to make it up to you.” YOU BETTER.

“I’d like for us to get old together. Eyes on the prize.” UM.

“I don’t want to be a woman who thinks a thing is happening that’s not happening.” SAME.

“I may or not be suggesting that we get married.” UM YOU COULD PROPOSE LIKE A NORMAL PERSON, YOU SHIT. SUSAN DESERVES ROMANCE.

“Ask me like a normal person.” That’s right. Stand up for your right to a proposal!

SHE SAYS YES. Really?

“He likes holding people’s babies. He likes talking to people. He truly wants the country to be a better place.” Liv and Cyrus meet up and Cyrus goes on about how Frankie is actually a good person and he doesn’t understand why he’s losing in the polls.

“You believe he’s the real thing.” You know, I don’t think Cyrus ever talked about Fitz this way, so Liv in awe.

“No. YOU believe. You. Cyrus Beene, you are a believer.”

“If I’ve lost my touch, I need to know.” If Frankie is so great and Cyrus has picked a good one then WHY IS HE LOSING? I know Cyrus is the devil, but he’s pretty vulnerable here, which is why Olivia has mercy on him.

“You’re not losing to Edison. You’re losing to my father.”

“So what are we doing? What’s the plan? I’m happy to go all in with whatever you’ve got going on.” Honestly, bring back the evil genius dream team.

“I’m not fighting my father because there’s no way to win.” DON’T GIVE UP OLIVIA.

“My father was command, Cyrus.” EVERYONE DRINK.

“It’s about you. What you want.” Rowan pulls Abby into one of his shady limo meetings.

“This will crush Mellie and give your gal a real shot.” Soooooo…Rowan tells Abby all about Olivia aborting Fitz’s baby because somehow that will ruin Mellie. And because he’s Satan.

“Ask yourself a simple question. What would Olivia Pope do?” Fair point, Rowan.

“Our target for destruction: Hollis Doyle, the devil you’d love to have a beer with.” Abby, Liv, Huck, and Quinn gather in the OPA conference room to go through the file on Hollis. JUST LIKE OLD TIMES.

“No matter what he does, America loves him.” YEP.

“Hollis loves him some women and women love Hollis.In all my years, not a one of them fillies ever needed an arm twist to roll in my hay.” That is how he responds to rape allegations? I want to vomit.

“His numbers went up?” I weep for fictional (and real) America.

“Books and thoughts? They don’t hurt people! Well…maybe books.” He just keeps running his mouth and counteracting everything.

“You’re looking at the front-runner for the Republican nomination.” #TeamEdison thinks they have this thing in the bag.

“You feel me, brother? This is America, you have another crop of supporters.” Edison wants to speak out against Hollis but Rowan warns him to not piss off the white people who want to vote for Edison so they can feel superior. AMERICA.

“That is an incredibly simplistic view, Rowan. Race is nothing more than a social construct.” I don’t understand how Edison, a man who deep down is a man of integrity, got roped into this mess. Also, he’s not here to be used for his race.

“You’re going to get there by making everyone forget that you are black.” THIS IS AWKWARD.

“So maybe it’s smarter to let the Republicans go after Hollis.” Edison REALLY wants to be President though.

Rowan tells Edison to add Jake to the top of his VP ballot. “The man who’s always at this house for dinner Jake Ballard?” HA HA HA HA.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” ROWAN’S FACE THOUGH.

“The decision is yours. You’re the candidate.” Sure it is.

Abby casually brings up attacking Hollis on his abortion stance to Olivia to see if she flinches. Spoiler alert: she doesn’t.

“Any discussion of abortion in the primary will only hurt Mellie, who says the wrong things and votes the wrong way and is tolerated on this issue only because of everything else she brings to the party. But God forbid they turn around and find anything in her history… An abortion won’t destroy Hollis, but it could destroy Mellie.” DOUBLE STANDARDS YAY. ALSO FORESHADOWING.

“It’s like being a 40-year-old woman without a husband. You don’t say you’re desperate, but you are.” The views Hollis has on women are so lovely.

“Which ever one of them gals drop out first will be my Vice President.” OH THAT’S A TWIST.

“Hitch your wagon to the Hollis train or lose.” Good God, I think both Mellie and Susan would rather die.

“Nobody is taking that deal. We are running for PRESIDENT.” Damn skippy. Abby is going to maintain her course.

The best dirt LizzieBear can dig up on Mellie is the fact that she saw a psychic multiple times back in the days after Jerry’s death. OH MY GOD do you guys REMEMBER Fried Chicken Mellie?

“That is the best I’ve got. It’s the only thing I’ve got.” That file with the info about Olivia’s abortion looms LARGE in Abby’s mind.

Mellie and Marcus share take-out and I SHIP IT SO MUCH.

“Mellie, you are going to win.” GOD.

“The people of this country need you so I don’t want to hear this crap, okay?” HE LOVES HER.

“Thanks.” “Any time.” DECLARE ME THE CAPTAIN OF THE SS MELLICUS.

“Move away from my door.” Rowan pays his daughter a visit and she’s not having it.

“Take the deal or else your pal Abby Whelen will.” Rowan tries to plant seeds of doubt in Liv’s head. DON’T LISTEN.

“It’s okay if you don’t trust me, Olivia. It’s the fact that you’re willing to trust anyone other than yourself that I find truly troubling.”

“You’re a reasonable guy.” “Am I?” Jake and Edison have the most awkward bro-date since Ross Geller and Mike Hannigan.

“I won’t be considering you for Vice President.”

“Look, you’re a stand-up guy, so I’ll be straight with you. I’m not a reasonable man.” Dark!Jake rise.

“You have no choice here. You know you have no choice. But yet your brain can’t compute it.”

“You will smile and wave and then wait for us to turn you on and off and change your batteries.”

“Don’t say no to me.”

“Always knew you were the smart one.” Liv goes to see Hollis. NO.

“Oh, hell, you don’t think I believe any of that racist crap I spew out there in the boonies, do you? I’m a businessman, Livvie. Just giving the customers what they want.”

“There ain’t enough Purell in the world to make me keep shaking their hands. Country people. Am I right?” And Hollis shows his true colors and the gleam in Liv’s eyes is telling me he just made a horrible mistake.

“We got a deal?” “We got a deal.” Liv’s triumphant smirk is giving me life because she looks like she won a victory that Hollis has no idea that he gave her.

“I have meetings. I do run a country.” Abby is VERY BUSY.

“I went to see Hollis and then I went to share some truth. Like a good lover of liberty.” OH MY GOD YES.

“It sounds to THIS country girl like you are making a mockery of the voters.” YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Liv and Abby drinking wine and celebrating. “Tomorrow we go back in the ring. Mellie versus Susan. Enemies again.”

“It was fun while it lasted.” “It was.”

“Abby? I’m not going to hold back.”

“I want the pleasure of beating you when you’re running full speed.”

“I respect you, Edison. By this town’s standards, you should be canonized. “ Liv’s first move is saving Edison from himself.

“I’d be happy for you if I thought you may actually run the country.” There it is.

“Do you see a pattern? My father is stealing this election for you. Not because he believes in you. Not because he wants to lay history at your feet. He’s doing it because he thinks you’re easy to control.” And that ain’t no lie.

“I am this close to the White House.” “Not like this. You have to drop out.”

“I can get you out of this race and make sure that you have a real shot at the presidency in the next frame.”

“You want a soundbite? You want the truth? Hollis Doyle is a disgusting piece of trash.” And THAT’S how he’s going to get out this. Ignoring Rowan’s “Talk less. Smile More.” advice.

“The fact that Doyle insists on saying “all lives matter” when talking about this movement really pisses me off. It’s like walking up into someone else’s funeral and screaming, “Why are you not crying for my daddy? He’s dead, too.” Well, yes, he is. And that is sad. But that is not the topic of the conversation. Go stand over there and let the adults talk.” OH MY GOD.

“In fact, it is the opposite of the ideals of this nation. Nothing needs to be restored. Nothing needs to be made great again. We are a better nation than we were 20 years ago. Than we were 50 years ago. Than we were 100 years ago. Than we were at our founding. That is the point of America. We are a country where we are always greater than our past.”

“I am proud to live in a nation where a black man has a legitimate shot at the White House. That’s American greatness.”

“He just lost the presidency.” I mean, I would have voted for him after that.

“I thought I told you to put the fear of God, the fear of ME in him.” Rowan is PISSED. Also apparently equates himself with God.

“This is really happening Cyrus!” Edison drops out. Frankie Vargas is our Democratic Nominee.

“Even when he’s running full speed, I’m running faster.”

“I don’t know what that means, but may I say how glad I am you’ve never chosen to go to therapy.” LOL CYRUS ILYSM.

“This is enough.” “To get Susan to drop out of the race?” “Yeah it is.” OH DEAR.

“You have something.” “And I’m sure you do too.” TIME TO TRADE STORIES.

“They are in the Oval.” “They? Who’s they?” They is EVERYONE from both sides. It’s time to trade dirt and see whose is worse.

“If you decide to stay in, the dirt will be used against you publicly.” So it basically comes down to how much Mellie and Susan are willing to be trashed.

“I’m double not dropping out.” “Did you just call doubles on dropping out?”

“This is a way for us to pick the strongest candidate, protect the one who isn’t, and give the party the best chance to win the election in the fall. It’s smart.” It’s time to focus on beating Frankie and keeping the Republicans in power.

“If this is about the thing with the koala…” TELL ME MORE.

THEY KNOW ABOUT DAVID AND THE DEAL HE MADE WITH GOVERNOR BAKER FOR THE ENDORSEMENT. Welp.

“Are you frigging serious? You lied to me again.” Oh David.

Abby’s turn to spill. And she DOESN’T drop the abortion bombshell. She goes with the psychic. Olivia gives her a look. She KNOWS Abby is holding something back.

“Where are you going, Susan?” “I’m done. I quit. Congratulations, Mellie.” But okay hear me out…Grant/Ross ticket? No one would have to change the name on ANYTHING if they win.

“You can’t quit. I refuse to let you quit.” Susan aptly points out that the country is going to think that she knew about the sugar deal or that she should have known. She’s screwed either way. So she’s out.