Kimberly Guilfoyle’s RNC speech sparks shock and awe — and an online challenge

When Kimberly Guilfoyle shouted, “The best is yet to come!” at the Republican National Convention, she probably wasn’t referring to all the jokes inevitably made at her expense following her, um, intense remarks.

All the same, the former first lady of San Francisco and ex-wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom inspired plenty of memes and comedy material — including from TV host Stephen Colbert, who went live with “The Late Show” to break down Monday night’s RNC opener.

“Next stop on the love train was [Donald Trump Jr.’s] girlfriend and vengeful banshee who will haunt your dreams Kimberly Guilfoyle, who screamed this message of hope,” Colbert quipped.

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Cut to an especially dark excerpt from Guilfoyle’s speech, in which she called California “a land of discarded heroin needles in parks, riots in streets and blackouts in homes.”

“I’ve tried to look at California, but there’s fire everywhere because of climate change,” Colbert said. “By the way, her ex-husband is the governor of California. I’m guessing that was not an amicable split. But I think I know who was awarded custody of the rage, because when it came to the president’s agenda, she had some very nuanced screams.”

Colbert wasn’t the only one who noticed the high volume at which Guilfoyle delivered — and sometimes yelled — her address.

“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” simply reacted to the speech by retweeting a random series of all-caps numbers and letters from Lady Gaga. And Broadway star Bette Midler sarcastically wondered if Donald Trump Jr. later appeared to be crying because his girlfriend yelled at him.

“After yelling all the way in the limo ride, Kimberly is now yelling at the waiter at The Capital Grille in DC,” Midler joked on Twitter. “Kimberly needs a hug.”

There was bubbling excitement about the prospect of actress Cecily Strong lampooning the moment on “Saturday Night Live.” And several people tweeted a viral image of Guilfoyle gesturing toward the sky with her arms outstretched and mouth wide open mid-shout, which comedian Ziwe wryly captioned, “Time to conquer Earth!” alongside an image of “Power Rangers” villain Rita Repulsa.

Sharing the same photo, actress Yvette Nicole Brown wrote, “Let #ThePurge BEGIN!!!” while actor George Takei drew a visual comparison to the meme of “Sesame Street” puppet Elmo summoning infernal flames.

Trending along with clips from Guilfoyle’s speech was the hashtag #GuilfoyleChallenge, which people attached to videos of themselves dramatically shrieking, “The best is yet to come!” Others posted edited photos and collages of Guilfoyle as Repulsa, the green Wicked Witch of the West, Maleficent and other nefarious characters.

See more reactions to Guilfoyle’s RNC debut below.