Julia Louis-Dreyfus dumbstruck by politician's use of Veep slogan

D.C. insiders have consistently hailed HBO’s Veep as a case of art accurately imitating political life, but when it comes to life imitating art, it’s difficult to imagine Selina Meyer as anyone’s political idol. Australian Prime Minister Martin Turnbull, however, recently used a three-word phrase nearly identical to one used by the fictional character as a rebuttal to criticism from former Prime Minister, Tony Abbott.

During an interview with Australian news program 7:30 Monday night, Turnbull used, almost word-for-word, a political slogan from Veep‘s fourth season, which was prominently displayed on Meyer’s tour bus as she ran for President. “So, as you go from one Liberal prime minister to another, you have continuity and you have change and there has been a lot of change.” Turnbull said. Meyers’ campaign slogan registers as an ironic joke aimed at lampooning deceptive politicans, simply reading, “continuity with change.”

In a tweet posted Tuesday, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who has won four Emmys for her portrayal of Meyer, said that she was “dumbstruck” by Turnbull’s use of the phrase.

According to BuzzFeed Australia, Turnbull additionally used the phrase four times during an interview with Neil Mitchell on regional radio program 3AW. A mashup of both Meyer and Turnbull using the phrase is also now on Vine.

Louis-Dreyfus also shared the official poster for Veep‘s fifth season, which returns to HBO Sunday, April 24 at 10:30 p.m. ET.