THE ELECTION! THE ELECTION! VOTE HARRIS! VOTE TRUMP! These are the phrases that have been plastered everywhere for the past couple months, ever since Harris unexpectedly entered the presidential campaign and set the internet ablaze. Instead of talking about the easily google-able facts, such as what happened with the swing states and the votes, I wanted to discuss the cultural impact this election has had on the digital world.
Harris took a turn in her presidential campaign, which I can confidently say I have never seen done by anyone before! She used different online jokes and references to connect with the public’s younger audience, using the phrase “being brat”. This is a reference to the British pop singer CharlieXCX’s album “Brat” which came out in June 2024, and the joke of having a “brat summer” revolved around the idea of being a confident woman and acknowledging the messier sides of life in stride. CharliXCX clearly believed this to be aligned with Harris, as she then tweeted “Kamala IS Brat.”. Harris’ sense of humour and confidence struck the internet and people began creating memes and edits, and this became an inside joke all over social media causing people to admire her more and more. One of the most famous clips that were surfacing the internet was her speech, where she said the famous quote: “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of what you live and what came before you”. This had barely any context and everyone found it confusing and hilarious, creating the memes and jokes about the running candidate. She was aware of all the jokes and videos people were creating about her, and she decided to embrace them! Harris found it an opportunity to connect and try and win the votes and hearts of the younger generation.
Politicians have long used celebrities to connect with the youth, however, this election the internet made an incredible impact regarding the voting, as the edits and memes of Harris acted as advertisements and persuasion to vote for her. This was extremely effective, considering she only just began campaigning in June of this year since President Biden unexpectedly dropped out of the campaign. He had dropped out swiftly after a humorous debate with Donald Trump that people were not quite pleased about, which we’ll discuss now.
When asked about his capabilities to serve, Trump began talking about golf and his shape, which many thought was avoiding the original question. He began elaborating on his golf skills, comparing himself to his then-opponent, saying Biden: “can’t hit a ball 50 yards”. Biden then took a frankly comical offence to this and when he responded, the political conversation was derailed and somehow turned to a discussion solely focused on their athletic capabilities in sports, their shape, weight, and height. Obviously, things that the debate was not originally about and would not benefit their campaign whatsoever. During this debate, Biden was seen mumbling and stuttering quite a lot, which is normal for a man in his 80’s. However, this debate was found to be extremely comedic and the internet would not stop talking about the lack of professionalism, which led to people losing trust in Biden, hence the immediate suspicion voters had of his vice president when she’d begun running for the presidency right after Biden dropped out.
In November, it was announced that Donald Trump would be the 47th president of the United States, which would make this the second time he has served as president. This election will most definitely go down in the history books and when it does, I think its cultural impact and the unseriousness of its campaigns will be a defining characteristic.
