Meme momentum: Harris has arrived in pop culture

With Kamala Harris, hope for the Democrats is returning to the US election campaign. This is also reflected in a flood of memes and videos on social media. But will clicks lead to votes?

In the past few days, everything in the US election campaign has moved at breakneck speed. Not just politically, but also in pop culture. Since Kamala Harris stepped into the spotlight as the likely Democratic candidate, a real hype has developed on social media with ever new memes and videos of the 59-year-old. Harris is becoming a phenomenon in pop culture – this reflects the current euphoria among liberal Americans about the new candidate. And that could become a real factor in the fight for the White House.

A flood of memes and quick-edited videos on the Tiktok platform is usually reserved for pop stars, but these days they are promoting politician Harris with driving beats, quick cuts and visual effects. The clips show her in a playful, charming and approachable way, such as dancing or laughing – or they allude to statements made by the Vice President that have gone viral.

It may look silly to some, but it is an important part of political communication, because these formats can reach the youngest group of voters, Gen Z – the generation between around 12 and 27 years old. And what’s more: anyone who manages to get ordinary people to produce and share content inspires and fascinates them. And those who inspire and fascinate are often elected.

Almost everyone knows what memes are by now, but Tiktok in particular has added new dimensions to the content. Remixes of videos, accompanied by music and effects, comments during the actual clip, your own editing sequences and crazy mash-ups (music arrangements): the freedom users have to create their own content knows almost no limits.

“The videos are so absurd that they work,” said political influencer Annie Wu Henry, who runs TikTok campaigns for prominent Democrats, most recently to the Washington Post. The clips attract users and motivate them to continue to engage with them and their content.

One of Harris’ biggest hits comes from an old speech: In it, the former California Attorney General quoted her mother, who said: “Do you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” Harris’ mother wanted to express that nothing happens in a vacuum and that context is crucial.

The original video is quirky and could easily be interpreted as Harris being awkward or bizarre, but instead the social media mainstream has agreed that it’s great – both endearing and winning.

This is in line with public support, which Harris may be more useful among young voters than that of Barack and Michelle Obama. Pop star Charli XCX posted on the X platform on Sunday: “kamala IS brat”. Brat, as you should now know, is not only the name of the British pop star’s latest album, but also describes an attitude to life. Brat is someone who is brave, takes risks, has rough edges and remains authentic. Literally translated, “brat” means brat.

The “Brat Summer” movement developed from this attitude to life, which calls for people to enjoy the hottest time of the year according to these same maxims. Harris’ campaign team saw the great potential of supporting Charli XCX and immediately redesigned its Twitter account – to match the light green design of the Brat album cover.

Recently, Harris has been compared to Barack Obama and the 2008 presidential election campaign. At that time, Obama’s message and his young age captivated large parts of the USA, the politician rose to the status of a pop star, and the euphoria ultimately paved his way to the White House. Harris is also trying to emphasize her vision for the future of America and – like Obama – to convey a positive message instead of simply campaigning on the fact that she can prevent a second term for Donald Trump.