The race for American presidential elections has moved from newspaper columns to Twitter trends and TikTok reels in 2024. During this presidential election, it is evident that both candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, have taken to social media platforms to promote their campaigns.
This summer, as pressure mounted for Harris to replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, Harris supporters flocked to social media to make videos promoting her, not through statements on her policies, but rather via trends and memes.
As soon as Harris announced her candidacy in July, the responses were mixed; while many were still digesting the Democratic party’s sudden turn, others were wary of this shift. However, Harris quickly caught Gen Z’s attention when her campaign rebranded Biden’s former X (formerly Twitter) profile with a bold neon-green “kamala hq” banner. This rebranding took off after British pop singer Charlie XCX endorsed her with a bold tweet on Jul. 21, 2024, declaring “kamala IS brat.” The “BRAT” album, released in June, represents a summer of rebellion, partying and edgy-fun. This endorsement alone pulled nearly nine million views in just a few hours, positioning Harris as a fresh and relatable candidate for young voters.
Building on this momentum, earlier this year, the Harris campaign shared another TikTok featuring pop artist Chappell Roan’s song “Femininomenon.” The TikTok included pictures of Harris next to former President Trump to argue that “what we really need is a femininomenon,” emphasizing a need for change and suggesting that a woman’s perspective is essential for the future. After announcing Tim Walz as Harris’s Vice President candidate, the Harris-Walz campaign also launched camo hats that mimicked Chappell Roan’s “Midwest Princess” tour merch.
Another viral moment emerged when an old quote from Harris’s speech in 2023 resurfaced. During her speech, Harris shared lighthearted but pointed advice from her late mother, who used to say “I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?,” reminding people that no one exists in isolation from their history and community. Following this, social media creators quickly transformed this quote into a series of memes, audio snippets and song mixes.
Additionally, Harris has been actively going live on media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube during her rallies, making her campaign more accessible and transparent to voters online.
While X was flooded with references to coconut trees, Trump was performing his own social media promotion tactics. The former president’s account was reinstated on X by entrepreneur Elon Musk following his purchase of the platform. Trump had previously been banned in 2021 in response to tweets he made related to the attempted insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. His first post after the account’s restoration was in Aug. 2023 – an image of his mugshot taken following his arrest in Georgia on election racketeering charges.
With campaign efforts escalating in the months leading up to Nov. 5, Trump has doubled down on his partnership with Musk. The pair have appeared at rallies together, particularly in battleground states like Pennsylvania. Musk has frequently signalled his support for Trump to his 202.6 million followers on X. Most recently, Musk announced on Oct. 20 that he would be running a sweepstakes, offering $1 million daily to registered Pennsylvania voters who sign his petition promoting free speech and access to gun ownership. The sweepstakes is currently being sued by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who considers it unlawful.
In addition to X, Trump has been heavily advertising on Snapchat, another social media platform popular with Gen Z and youth voters. He has also appeared on podcasts popular with conservative youth, such as the “Joe Rogan Experience.” His recent campaign tactics have also leaned towards viral moments, like the Oct. 20 stunt where he acted as a McDonald’s employee. Videos from the event, which was in response to Harris’s statement that she had worked at McDonald’s, went viral on a variety of social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram and X.
While Trump has participated in his fair share of social media campaigning, much of these efforts have been in the past several months, following Harris’s nomination and initial virality. The race has narrowed significantly since Biden’s announcement that he would not be pursuing reelection. It is easy to assume that Trump’s social media appeals are driven by a desire to sway young voters away from Harris.