Identity Of The “Hot Guy” At The GOP Debate Is Revealed

Update: The good people of the internet did what they do best and solved last night's biggest mystery. The "hot guy behind Jake Tapper" who turned into the CNN debate's greatest meme has been revealed to be Gregory Caruso, a young film director. According to his Vimeo profile, he studied filmmaking at USC, loves the Golden Era of Hollywood, and used to have an epic beard. He was likely at the debate because his father, Rick Caruso, is a wealthy real estate magnate and big Republican donor. This post was originally published on September 16, 2015.

The second GOP debate on Wednesday night got off to something as a slow start. Rand Paul criticized Donald Trump for being mean. Donald Trump responded by calling him ugly. Everyone forgot about Mike Huckabee. In other words, pretty much what you'd expect. But the first block of the debate did have a winner — it just wasn't one of the 11 candidates on the stage. It was the hot guy sitting behind CNN's moderator Jake Tapper.

Early on, a few swift-fingered screen-grabbers nabbed pictures of him. He's sitting close to the stage, just over Tapper's right shoulder. Preliminary data suggest that he is a young white man in a gray suit with phenomenal eyebrows and a permanent scowl.

While it's safe to assume he's a Republican who lives in California, his identity remains unknown. But tonight, at least until the candidates stop talking, we're crowning him the winner.