The 'Fired Big Bird' or 'Mitt Romney Hates Big Bird' meme originated during the first 2012 U.S. Presidential Debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. During the debate, Romney famously stated that while he liked Big Bird, he would stop the government subsidy to PBS to reduce the national deficit. This sparked an immediate viral reaction across social media, leading to images of Big Bird in unemployment lines, holding cardboard signs, or walking away with a suitcase. The meme represents the intersection of pop culture and political policy, often used to satirize fiscal conservatism or to express sadness over the potential loss of childhood staples due to government budget cuts.