Social media had a big influence on both Donald Trump’s and Kamala Harris’s campaigns throughout the 2024 Presidential election. Many memes surrounding their campaigns were created by users and the candidates themselves worldwide, flooding social media platforms.
Parties within the 2024 election tried to reach and influence younger voters, more specifically Gen Z, more than ever in order to gain votes. EuroNews shares that within 2,000 young voters, 44% of Gen Zers shared that social media has had the largest impact on their social and political views. Because of this, the need to cater to the demographic of Gen Z has become tricky, as the relationship between Gen Z and politics is complex. EuroNews writes “Some Gen Zers may vote less than older people, others are highly engaged in political activism. Yet others are quickly losing faith in the political system, making it more difficult for parties to win them over.” The juxtaposition of this and the need to constantly adapt to the ever-changing trends and interests of Gen Z on social media are not only a reason behind why political campaigns have been attempting to connect with Gen Z but also a reason for the importance of it.
Kamala Harris x Brat
Image from BBC article What is Kamala Harris’s ‘brat’ rebrand all about?
During the summer of 2024, pop star Charli XCX’s newest album “brat” reigned over social media. With the album gaining significant traction, trends on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok were inspired by the “brat” album cover, coining the neon green theme as “Brat Summer.” Harris, the Democratic candidate for the 2024 Presidential Election rebranded her online presence by embracing “Brat Summer,” appealing to younger voters who loved the “brat” album’s trend online. Harris’s Twitter account “Kamala HQ” changed its banner to a parody of the “Brat” album cover, consisting of a neon green background and black Arial font reading “Kamala HQ.”
Donald Trump and Ken Carson
Image from Hyperpop Daily Instagram
Another artist who gained attention during the election was rapper Ken Carson. His latest album “A Great Chaos,” which dropped in December 2023, gained positive publicity throughout TikTok. During December 2023, photos surfaced of Trump at a dinner, streaming Carson’s latest album on Spotify on his iPad. In addition, Trump posted a campaign video with Carson’s music in the background on his TikTok account, @realdonaldtrump. Many users, following Trump’s post, made videos with Carson’s song as the audio while posting messages in support of Trump’s campaign.
The Coconut Tree
One of the largest memes of the 2024 Presidential Election was Harris’s “coconut tree” speech. While giving a speech in May 2023 during the White House ceremony, Harris said, “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” This audio rapidly spread across social media through posts on TikTok and Instagram. People made edits of Harris’s persona regarding the “coconut tree” trend and remixed the audio with songs, including songs from Brat, to show support for Harris. Many users referred to her candidacy as “Operation Coconut Tree,” connecting to her popular “coconut tree” speech.
Big Sister General
Another viral audio of Harris is the “big sister general” laugh. The audio consisted of Harris and her sister, Maya Harris, laughing during an interview. The laughter between the two sisters was sparked after Harris said, “No, I’m big sister, big sister general.” People quickly clipped this interview audio of the two laughing, and posted it to TikTok. The audio, much like the other audios of Harris, received great attention on TikTok after being used over the past year paired with comedic text online.
Trump: Dogs and Cats
Trump’s remark on the immigrants in Ohio made its way around social media and quickly became a viral audio. During the debate, Trump falsely accused Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio of eating people’s pets. He specifically said, “[The immigrants are] eating the dogs … they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.” This problematic claim quickly made rounds on TikTok. Online users took the Trump’s audio out of context and instead posted comedic videos with his accusation of Haitian immigrants eating pets. People also remixed this audio into songs, similar to what was done with Harris’s trending coconut tree audio.
Harris’s Endorsements
Image from Yahoo Entertainment
Leading up to Election Day, Harris garnered many endorsements such as pop singer Taylor Swift and rapper Sexxy Red. Swift announced her endorsement for Harris through an Instagram post with a caption that read, “Recently I was made aware that [an] AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site.” Her caption was concluded by announcing her vote for Harris for the upcoming election. “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” said Swift in her Instagram post.
In 2023, Sexxy Red went on the This Past Weekend podcast, where she stated “I like Trump … We need him back in office. We need him back because, baby, them checks. Them stimulus checks. Trump, we miss you.” Following this, during June of 2023 while Joe Biden was still in the race, Red claimed that she was not endorsing nor outwardly supporting either of the candidates and said that she was her “own candidate.” However, Sexxy Red announced her endorsement for Harris on November 1st, 2024 with a photo on X of her posing with “I voted” stickers and a tweet including “I just voted!!! Don’t tell us what to do with our [private parts]. #Kamala4President.” This change surprised many on social media platforms, as Red has been very open about her support towards Trump.
Trump’s Endorsements
Image from NPR article How Trump and Vance’s tour of dude influencers might help them win.
Throughout Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, online personalities TikTok star Bryce Hall and Twitch streamer Adin Ross announced their endorsement for his election. Hall was invited directly by Trump to speak at his campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the rally, Hall stated, “We need Trump back really badly.” Ross invited Trump to join him on a Twitch stream, showing his support for Trump. Trump accepted Ross’ invitation and was then seen in two of Ross’ streams, the first one being the two sitting and chatting with other Trump supporters surrounding them, while the second stream included Ross playing songs by Ken Carson for the former president. Following these streams, Trump posted a TikTok of him and Ross dancing together, with text reading, “Celebrating the biggest stream in history.”
