The Power of Memes in the 2024 Presidential Election Cycle

The 2024 presidential election cycle is being defined by memes, those viral snippets of a cultural moment that transcend constituencies, shape narratives, and forge connections in our fragmented media landscape.

Vice President Kamala Harris has been the benefactor of various memes since launching her presidential bid, including “brat summer,” “femininomenon,” celebrity content, and coconut memes. On the other hand, Donald Trump supporters have circulated images like the fist-pump image following an assassination attempt and embraced Hulk Hogan’s viral “Trumpmania” moment from the RNC.

Memes have the power to elicit connection and signal a range of emotions that galvanize supporters. They can also be used to flip the script by taking ownership of an unflattering or cringey moment. However, communicating through memes comes with risks, as they have a short shelf life and can backfire if they are deemed forced or inauthentic.

Harris and Trump are validating the power of hyper-targeted digital communications campaigns by adopting this strategy. Republican operatives have long contended that the Left can’t meme, but Democrats say their desire to be more online has always been there.

Harris has been mentioned roughly 46 million times across social media platforms in the past 30 days, while Trump saw about 34 million mentions. Harris and Walz have slightly less negative sentiment across social media than Trump and Vance, according to data.

The Harris-Walz campaign’s mastery of memes has given them more time to skirt traditional media and meet voters where they are — online. Trump is also engaging with more voters online, most recently by participating in an X Spaces interview with Elon Musk.

This digital strategy assumes that online chatter and vibes alone can get people to the polls. Democrats will have to bridge the meme momentum from the web to the main stage of next week’s DNC, enlisting influencers and using vertical video to stream the event across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.