The best memes to come out of the Trump vs Harris election debate

The stage was set and the world watched on as Donald Trump and Kamala Harris went head to head in their first election debate, which was also the first time they had both had set foot in the same room.

Vice-President Kamala Harris’s election odds have shortened since the clash on Tuesday and she even received an endorsement from global pop sensation Taylor Swift afterwards.

During the debate the pair butted heads on all manner of policies from abortion to immigration to the economy. Each accused the other of weakness and lying in the 90-minute war of words.

Former president Trump faced awkward questions about the Republican party’s hardline stance on abortion, his involvement in the January 6 insurrection and his unfounded claims that migrants are “eating pets” in Ohio as he sought to turn the debate to immigration at every opportunity.

Meanwhile, Ms Harris had to defend her role as vice-president in Joe Biden’s administration, including the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and the way the country has responded to the wars in Israel and Ukraine.

But, along with the seriousness of the event in the race to the White House, the internet did not disappoint.

Viewers took it upon themselves to create hilarious posts and memes off the backs of the pair’s reactions throughout the debate.

These are our favourites.

Cat frenzy

Even Trump got in on the action, making AI-generated images of him surrounded by moggies amid growing controversy surrounding recent claims pushed by him and his allies. They have been promoting a false narrative that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio have been capturing and eating pets.

But they weren’t the only topic of conversation:

And some even joined in to mock the celebrity supporters of both parties.

While others were just there for the ride.