In the last few days, the developments surrounding the pre-election campaign in the USA have been rapid. And since the announcement of Kamala Harris’ nomination for the Democratic Party, there has been a real wave of excitement on social media with more and more memes and videos of the 59-year-old.
Harris is becoming a pop culture phenomenon – and there is euphoria in the ranks of liberal Americans, as this could turn out to be a decisive factor in the battle for White House.
Memes and short videos featuring Harris are flooding even TikTok, a platform usually dominated by pop stars. These clips either present the most pleasant and approachable side of Harris, while for example the vice president dances or laughs, or reproduce her most viral statements.
To some, this may all seem a bit… funny. But it is a fact that social media – and therefore also TikTok – is a very important part of political communication, broadening the appeal primarily to the young voters of Gen Z (up to 27 years old). And moreover, anyone who manages to arouse the interest of the common people with the content they upload, can inspire and impress. And whoever can inspire and impress is usually the one who gets elected.
The “parable” with the… coconut tree
Today everyone knows what memes are. But TikTok has taken it to a new level, freeing up the way users can shape their content: now anyone can “cut and stitch” a video however they want, “dress” it up with whatever music and effects he wants, add comments above coke.
“The videos are so absurd that they’re effective,” political influencer Annie Wu Henry, who also runs the campaigns of prominent Democratic politicians on TikTok, tells the Washington Post. Videos gain the attention of users, who then want to further engage with their clips and content – either by re-watching them, promoting them to their friends, or even reposting them.
Kamala’s “brat summer”.
Harris may be able to secure significant support from young voters. And public positions such as that of pop star Charli XCX, who recently wrote to X: “kamala IS brat” contribute to this. “Brat” is the title of the singer’s latest album, but it is also a word that describes an entire life attitude. “Brat” describes someone who is courageous, who likes to take risks and who remains authentic – the dude, so to speak.
In fact, an entire movement has been created around this lifestyle: the “Brat Summer” movement, which calls on people to enjoy this warm time of year to the fullest. Harris’ team immediately recognized the power of supporting Charli XCX and completely changed the vice president’s account to X, focusing on the bright green design that also dominates the pop star’s album.
Not even the most populist politician
Many often compare Harris to Obama, who had managed to excite many Americans with his rhetoric and his young age in the 2008 election campaign. Eventually, the American politician developed into a pop icon – which also paved the way for the White House.
Harris is also trying to show more of her vision for the future of America and – like Obama – to send a positive message, instead of always focusing on preventing Donald Trump from returning to the White House. But whether this tactic will continue to be effective on social media remains to be seen.
Ahead of the 2020 election, Harris has failed to gain traction in the race for the next Democratic nominee. Likewise during her last four years as Vice President of the USA – one could say that her aura was not very… cool.
But now it seems to have a new impetus, a large part of which is due to the relief felt by many when Biden announced his withdrawal from the re-contestation of the US presidency.
Two completely different candidates with just as much influence
In American elections, the “deification” of candidates is a common phenomenon. Harris can hope that the social media hype will continue and that the deluge of memes and videos of herself will be the best free advertising in her campaign.
And Donald Trump is just as popular on social media and has a really big “army” of supporters. The differences between the two candidates, however, are chaotic in terms of the messages they want to convey, but also the way in which they seek to do so.
Trump and his followers focus on polarizing the political dialogue and choose to attack political opponents. One of Trump’s latest TikTok videos, which has garnered nearly a million likes, features various clips from his public appearances, accompanied by one of Trump’s lines to Harris: “You’re lousy at everything you’ve done, you’re an extreme liberal, we don’t want you here, we don’t want you anywhere.” And finally: “Kamala, take a leg, disappear from here.”
Source: DW
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