When former President Donald Trump posted a meme of himself waving from the inside of a McDonald’s drive-through station, he received 800,000 likes within 24 hours on X alone.
The caption on the image read, “When I’m president the McDonald’s ice cream machines will work great again!” And the message immediately resonated with his followers.
“Trump’s polling numbers increase by 5% after this post” joked one user in the comments section. “You already had my vote but now I’m gonna take [a] few people with me,” said another.
WHEN I’M PRESIDENT THE MCDONALD’S ICE CREAM MACHINES WILL WORK GREAT AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/jqdyMpgnLF
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2024
Digital memes have become increasingly popular in politics. But the presidential election between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is taking things to a new level as political parties have incorporated memes into their official campaign communication strategies.
Merriam-Webster defines a meme as “an amusing or interesting item…that is spread widely online, especially through social media,” usually in the form of captioned images or short-form videos. The Pew Research Center reported that 75% of people ages 13 to 36 post memes, and 30% share at least one daily. According to Statista, a data-gathering platform, 93% of the American population is on social media, and young people are prolific users, making memes all the more influential.
“Memes are involved in this election perhaps more so than in some previous elections because the candidates are primarily being discussed in personal terms,” said Lawrence Mead, a former deputy director of research for the Republican National Committee. “These images, I think, are central to their appeal and also the criticism that they invoke.”
When Harris spoke at an event honoring the Hispanic community in May 2023, she shared a childhood anecdote in which her mother asked her, “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”
A meme was created and went viral.
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“Some people saw it as cool that she said that, and some people saw it as a sign that she’s ridiculous,” said Frances Negron-Muntaner, a professor at Columbia University who researches U.S. Latino literature and culture.
Political memes have been primarily associated with the radical right, which sought to use humor, often conveyed through its mascot, Pepe the Frog, to make extremist views go mainstream, said Federico Leoni, a political correspondent for Sky News. Today, the goal of memes remains that of “mobilizing one’s electorate” by radicalizing them to ensure votes, he added.
kamala IS brat
— Charli (@charli_xcx) July 22, 2024
When British singer Charli XCX, whose album “Brat” topped the charts, posted “Harris IS Brat” on X in July— as a nod of support to the vice president — the message received more than 56 million views and a viral meme was generated.
“You could say that that was a turning point…because it provided a frame for young people to see [Harris] as cool,” said Negron.
But Republicans have used some Harris memes to attack her, mocking the sound of her laugh.
“That’s the thing about humor in general, it’s ambiguous,” said Negron. “If there’s too much [humor] attached to a candidate, then it might make some people feel…that’s not a serious candidate.”
The professor cautioned that humor can be an easier way for people to absorb content regardless of intent. This means that “even a punching down, non-insightful form of humor will resonate with people,” she said.
After Trump made comments during the presidential debate about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating pets, he posted four AI-generated memes depicting himself as a savior of cats and dogs, with the most popular one earning one million likes on Instagram. In one meme, a cat holds a sign that says, “Kamala hates me.”
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Trump has intentionally used memes to cultivate an image of outrage, which has served as a political asset, said Mead.
“The public doesn’t know about public policy, and they therefore judge on the basis of how the candidates strike them personally. I think that that’s rational.” But he warns that “there’s certainly a danger that memes can be extreme and unreasonable.”
In 2020, deceptively edited videos led to a barrage of articles about misinformation from the media. “People weren’t used to that yet, and so what happened? They believed everything,” said Leoni.
Candidates’ weaponization of political memes during this election, he says, is guaranteed to have a permanent impact on voters:
“Now, they believe nothing.”
About the author(s)
Martina Italiano di Licosa is a graduate student at Columbia Journalism School with a background in television, including a BFA in Film and TV from NYU and experience at major media companies such as NBC and Disney.