Kamala Harris to Become New Democratic Candidate, and How Her “Meme Game” Can Work in Her Favor
A shocking historical event has occurred—President Joe Biden has recently announced that he will be withdrawing his re-election bid. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place, and she has something Trump doesn’t—the ability to make viral memes and gain the support of Gen-Z voters. Here’s everything we know about the re-election and Harris’ meme game!
Source: Wikimedia Commons, Photo by The White House/ Public Domain
biden steps down, endorses harris
On July 21st, Biden withdrew from the election and endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris, as the new candidate. This happened while debate was circling on whether he was mentally capable to be president for another four years. This would make Harris the first Black woman and first Asian American to be the Democratic Candidate if no one else wins the nomination. Hundreds of elected officials have voiced support for her nomination.
Since Harris’ nomination, the Democratic Presidential campaign has raised more than $100 million between Sunday—when Biden stepped down from re-election—and Monday evening. On July 22nd, Harris officially received enough delegates required to become the Democratic Presidential candidate, gaining 2,688 of the 1,976 delegates required. However, other nominations are possible, and the nomination process for those who qualify will begin August 1st-7th.
Despite not yet being the official Democratic Candidate, Harris raised $81 million in her first 24 hours of being a nominee, which is the largest amount earned within 24 hours in the history of presidential campaigns.
Source: @PopBase on X
celebrity support for harris
Many celebrities have expressed their support for Harris’ nomination. According to CNN, Beyoncé gave Kamala Harris permission to use her song “Freedom” for her presidential campaign. Katy Perry also showed support for Harris by resharing an edit of her with “Woman’s World”—Perry’s new release—playing. In addition to this, Olivia Rodrigo reposted a TikTok video showing support for Harris on Instagram.
Other celebrities to show support include Charli XCX, Cardi B, and Barbra Streisand. Charli XCX posted on X, “kamala IS brat,” in reference to her album. She describes a “brat” as someone who is a, “‘very honest’ and ‘very blunt’ person ‘who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things some times.’” After that post, the Biden-Harris campaign’s official X account rebranded to focus on Kamala with a “brat” theme. Cardi B showed her support by posting on X, “Been told y’all Kamala should've been the 2024 candidate.” Barbra Streisand stated that “[Harris] will work to restore women’s reproductive freedom.”
Source: Squarespace/Unsplash
republicans and trump’s reaction
Republicans have recently been on the attack since Harris’ nomination was announced. They have linked her with Biden’s most unpopular policies and the country’s economy. According to AP News, Republicans have also tried to accuse her of covering up information regarding Biden’s health.
Former president Donald Trump has also had a lot to say since Harris’ nomination. He states, “She’s the same as Biden but much more radical. She’s a radical left person and this country doesn’t want a radical left person to destroy it. She’s far more radical than he is.” He also added that she would be “easier than Biden” to beat, because Biden is “slightly more mainstream.”
In addition to this, the Trump Campaign commented on Harris’ nomination, stating, “Kamala Harris is just as weak, failed and incompetent as Joe Biden—and she’s also dangerously liberal. Not only does Kamala need to defend her support of Joe Biden’s failed agenda over the past four years, she also needs to answer for her own terrible weak-on-crime record in California.”
The backlash towards Harris’ nomination didn’t stop there. On Trump’s Truth Social account, he posted, “Lyin’ Kamala Harris destroys everything she touches!” Since Trump can no longer use age as a means of attacking his opponent like he did with Biden—since Harris is much younger than him—the former president has had to find other ways to slander her, including calling her a liar and making fun of her laughter. “I call her ‘laughing Kamala,’” Trump said during a Michigan rally. “She’s crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh.” He also called her “far less competent” than Biden.
MAGA Inc—supporters of Trump under the slogan “Make America Great Again”—jumped into action once Harris’ nomination was announced. According to The Guardian, MAGA Inc spent $5 million on a television advertisement that portrays Harris as the “puppet master” in the Biden Administration.
But despite all the backlash, Harris has a secret weapon that Trump doesn’t have—the ability to make people laugh and attract Gen-Z voters. This could give her a better chance of winning the nomination and beating Trump in the election.
Source: user @arianasminajj on X
make america laugh again
Recently, Harris has been attracting the attention of Gen-Z on social media and has become known for her laughing. Despite Trump’s attempts to make this a negative aspect about her, her Gen-Z supporters have fought back to create positivity surrounding her tendency to laugh. User arianasminajj posted on X, “kamala girl I need you to make a bunch of blue hats that say ‘Make America Laugh Again’ so the abbreviation is MALA, hence ur name, and use their card against them!!!!!! it’s now or never sista.”
The name is a twist on Trump’s MAGA—Make America Great Again—which has been his slogan since he first ran for presidency against Hillary Clinton. The slogan has been printed on various merchandise, such as hats, t-shirts, and even bumper stickers.
The user arianasminajj even made hats for sale with “Make America Laugh Again” printed on them, and other X users such as user acnewsitics have joined making their own “MALA” hats. This has also caused many other social media users to pull up videos of Harris laughing to use as reaction videos and other videos of her to use as memes.
Source: user @sitaradidi on X
viral tweets and harris’ most popular memes
Many videos of Harris have become viral and used as memes across social media platforms. One of her viral memes is a video of her laughing on an Instagram live and saying “Ahh, you guys gonna drag me for this huh?” Another viral video of her is her raising her finger to her lips as she walks past the camera with a mischievous look on her face.
One of her most popular memes is a video of her speaking into a microphone, saying, “I love good news, love good news, I just love good news!” A user on X, sitaradidi, made a wheel explaining astrology houses with things Harris has said in viral meme videos. These funny videos have attracted a Gen-Z audience. To feed the Gen-Z audience, the official TikTok account for Kamala HQ shared a video with Chappell Roan’s “Feminonomenon” playing in the background.
Various funny viral tweets of Harris have surfaced on X because of Harris’ reaction videos gaining more popularity. NFL_Memes quoted Biden’s statement about his withdrawal from the election on X with “Kamala Harris right now” and a video of a football player putting their helmet on. Another viral tweet is from user alyssalimp on X who posted “trying to hype myself when I can’t afford an uber” with a reaction video of Harris walking towards a bus with her name on it and shouting “Look at that bus!” It’s safe to assume that Gen-Z are having a blast on social media since Harris’ nomination!
Source: Squarespace/Unsplash
recent election updates
On July 24th, Biden gave a speech about his decision to end his re-election bid. The Democratic National Convention’s rules committee also met to determine how a virtual nomination vote would happen. In addition to this, Trump held a rally on July 24th in Charlotte, North Carolina. As of July 24th, potential Democratic candidates have only days to get in the race and challenge Harris. But things are looking bright for Harris with her recent social media virality and Gen-Z support.
conclusion
Biden stepping down from re-election was something the United States didn’t see coming. But with Harris being nominated in his place, the Democratic party could have a great shot at beating Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Harris’ virality on social media has attracted support from Gen-Z and could potentially encourage them to vote when the election takes place. But although Harris has a pretty good shot at becoming the new Democratic Presidential candidate, other potential candidates could be nominated to challenge her.
If Harris wins the nomination and the election, this could mean many things. Reproductive freedom for women could be restored, and Trump’s Project 2025—which restricts the rights of non-CIS heteronormative men and includes actions such as banning birth control and enforcing Catholic religious education in all public schools—would never be put in place.
