If you engaged in any way with the 2024 US election, there is little doubt that you have not encountered some sort of political meme, be it âMomala Harrisâ, âDark Brandon‘ or a wacky photo of Donald Trump with an unserious caption. Memes dominated much election discourse in 2024. Both in US and UK politics they became a clear way in which parties attempted to appeal to the masses. Significantly, much political meme-ing in the recent US election was directly orchestrated by the Democratic Party to engage the recently enfranchised Gen-Z voters. Such a tactic was similarly enlisted by the Republican Party albeit not as explicitly nor as widespread.
Meme-ifying serious political figures is often done the name of manipulating their identities. In the memes orchestrated by the Democrats, Kamala comes across as the quirky aunt youâd love to show up at the family gathering, as opposed to a stern state prosecutor. On the right, Trump is meme-d into an increasingly unthreatening and comedic old man; one that would assuredly say anything for a laugh.
If the Democrat’s use of memes was in an attempt to promote their appeal to the youth by pretending they were down with the kids, they failed. According to exit polls by CNN Trump had only 36% of the Youth (18-29) vote in 2020, with a gain of 12% (43%) in 2024. Alarmingly, Trumpâs gain in this group is one of the most significant changes in the Youth vote in decades. Thus, what is made clear by such a gain is the Democratic party’s failure to engage with and understand what young people actually want.Â
This is not to say that political memes are the only reason for this change in polling, but much of what was pushed by the Democrats surely came across as desperate and out of touch to a Gen-Z crowd. To make memes out of politics is to push aside serious issues in favour of crude attempts to diminish opposition through a cheap laugh. With so much riding upon the Democrats’ defeat of Trump, it is surely distasteful to engage in the simplification of politics into silly personae and jokes.
In fact, there is a distinct danger in the memeification of politics that is often ignored as a genuine threat. When political figures are meme-ified, they can reform their image into something less threatening, amusing even. Distinctly, memes regarding Trump have assuredly overshadowed his actualised person, whom has repeatedly expressed xenophobic and misogynistic ideals. As such, when we laugh at Trump’s tweets, or the absurd phrases he coins, we give him more power. Such a power is the power to say outlandish, controversial, damaging things and have it reframed as absurdist humour, such as his assertion that Haitian immigrants are ‘eating the cats and dogs’. Trump’s absurd claim has been re-mixed and auto-tuned to death online and as a result, his xenophobic assertion has been morphed into a comedic tagline. The potent danger of what he says has been diminished.
Ultimately, the memeification of political figures takes away from actual and nuanced discourse and reforms it into childish playground rhetoric and rudimentary digs at the opposition. When we see political figures as personae’s instead of human beings with actualised power, we allow them to get away with what would otherwise be frowned upon. So, next time you laugh at a ‘Momala’ meme or at Trump’s absurd rantings, and whilst there is nuance to the conversation, maybe consider the danger of laughing at what should be serious.