--- title: Orrin Hatch Taking Off Invisible Pair of Glasses Becomes Meme description: Sen. Orrin Hatch became a meme sensation overnight after a clip went viral of him removing a pair of glasses that he isn't wearing. canonical: https://time.com/5105754/orrin-hatch-invisible-glasses-memes/ author: Lena Grossman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-17T15:47:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:46:19.185Z og:title: This Senator Removing Invisible Glasses Just Memes Itself og:description: He had quite the comeback og:url: https://time.com/5105754/orrin-hatch-invisible-glasses-memes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d1f9cdaf84acb26/6988f87486f68e03ac6e7eb4/orrin-hatch-invisible-glasses.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3882 og:image:height: 2184 og:image:alt: Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Department of Homeland Security og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Senator Removing Invisible Glasses Just Memes Itself twitter:description: He had quite the comeback twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d1f9cdaf84acb26/6988f87486f68e03ac6e7eb4/orrin-hatch-invisible-glasses.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Video of Senator Taking Off Invisible Glasses Practically Memes Itself > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=460770f6-2ead-46ea-a13d-2031aca5b400&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Video of Senator Taking Off Invisible Glasses Practically Memes Itself [Watch (HLS stream): Video of Senator Taking Off Invisible Glasses Practically Memes Itself](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pGuTHiD7.m3u8) (0:20)  _Published 2018-01-18. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch became a meme sensation overnight after a clip of him removing a pair of glasses he didn’t seem to be wearing went viral. Twitter and the rest of the Internet expectedly erupted into a frenzy._ by [Lena Grossman](https://time.com/author/lena-grossman/) ## Lena Grossman Jan 17, 2018 3:47 PM UTC Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch became a meme sensation overnight after a clip of him removing a pair of glasses he didn’t seem to be wearing went viral. Twitter and the rest of the Internet expectedly erupted into a frenzy. by [Lena Grossman](https://time.com/author/lena-grossman/) ## Lena Grossman Jan 17, 2018 3:47 PM UTC [Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch](http://time.com/4835019/orrin-hatch-civility-politics/) became a meme sensation overnight after a clip of him removing a pair of glasses he didn’t seem to be wearing went viral. Twitter and the rest of the Internet expectedly erupted into a frenzy. [According to CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/16/politics/orrin-hatch-invisible-glasses/index.html), 83-year-old [Hatch](http://time.com/5052251/hatch-romney-bannon-trump-senate/) took off his invisibility cloak glasses during a [Senate Judiciary Committee](http://time.com/5095565/dianne-feinstein-glenn-simpson-fusion-gps-transcript/) hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Hatch seamlessly placed his spectacles next to him while continuing to speak in the committee hearing. The gif of Hatch raced its way across the Internet and people couldn’t get enough of it. > [](https://twitter.com/LevineJonathan/status/953310521775788032) > [](https://twitter.com/FraserDColeman/status/953293585524256768) Hatch’s social media team had fun with the moment — and trendy aesthetics — as his official Twitter account responded to the influx of tweets. “Oh you mean his invisible glasses from Warby Parker?” the response said. > [](https://twitter.com/senorrinhatch/status/953319729564876800) > [](https://twitter.com/BarstoolNewsN/status/953330458087034883) Predictably, late night hosts also took a moment to weigh in on the situation. > [](https://twitter.com/TheDailyShow/status/953327124345163777) > [](https://twitter.com/colbertlateshow/status/953487754163191808) Hatch made news earlier this month after announcing he would [retire from the Senate](http://time.com/5084701/orrin-hatch-retire-mitt-romney/) at the end of the year after serving for over 40 years. ## Transcript I'd like to begin with. 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