Why memes might not be enough for Kamala Harris
One features Kamala Harris leading a long line of schoolchildren in a dance, kicking their legs in the air and banging drums as she doubles over.
Another shows her jiving on stage under an umbrella as the rain lashes down, a bright smile on her face.
And another simply has her rocking back and forth in hysterical laughter as confetti pours down around her.
Since Ms Harris entered the race to become president social media has been flooded with Kamala content.
The short clips and hasty edits of her at her most eccentric have been shared and shared again, and again, and again – suggesting an early boost in popularity among a crucial cohort: Generation Z.
But while Ms Harris enjoys a bump in support online, there are questions over whether memes can translate into votes – and, most importantly, in the battleground states where it matters most.
kamala harris 2024 is on the brat summer schedule pic.twitter.com/YaLYqamudn https://t.co/T9Z0wkSk0b
— Tyler 🥥🌴 (@tillerbagel) July 22, 2024
As many as 40,000 people signed up to vote in the 48 hours after Joe Biden stepped down and her campaign coffers have received as much as $250,000 (£194,000) in donations or commitments from grassroots supporters and big donors alike.
A CNN poll published this week suggested the race is considerably closer than it was before Mr Biden dropped out. Some national polls, including Reuters/Ipsos research, have her taking the lead already, suggesting a victory in the popular vote may be on the cards.
For a politician considered by the political classes to be hopelessly unpopular, there is a growing belief that Gen Z could ride to her rescue.
On the internet, where Gen Z lives, the “Kamalanomenom”, as some have coined it, has seen the birth of a #SwiftiesForHarris movement, attempting to harness the global power of Taylor Swift fans.
The 2016 election was the first election I could vote in, and since then politics has been an absolute nightmare.
It's thrilling to see such a morale booster! #SwiftiesforKamala pic.twitter.com/Ja8KjXyVKU— Cali (Taylor's Version) ☾ (@calibeginsagain) July 22, 2024
Ms Harris received the ultimate badge of coolness by being termed “brat”, by Charli XCX, the 31-year-old British singer, born Charlotte Emma Aitchison, in Cambridge, and whose 2024 album “Brat” has become a summer monster.
Ms Harris’s shrewd team quickly changed its profile on X, formerly Twitter, to the trademark lime green colour of Brat, one of many naked attempts to capture the zeitgeist.
Typically, Generation Z, or Gen Z or even Zoomers, tend to be classified as people born between 1997-2010 and often considered “digitally native” in that they grew up with easy access to smartphones and social media.
In the past, younger voters typically voted less reliably than older people.
In the 2016 presidential election that Trump won, fewer than half cast a ballot. Younger voters are often accused of being apathetic, but experts say many have lost trust with the American political system.
As many as 41 million members of Gen Z will be eligible to vote in 2024 with eight million being first time voters.
Experts say winning the support of these groups – by Trump and his running mate JD Vance, and Ms Harris and whoever she selects, will depend on outreach.
Given the locked-in nature of American politics, some had forecast there was little that could move the race before November.
Yet John Conway, the policy director of Republican Voters Against Trump, an organisation that conducts focus groups, admitted there were positive signs for those who did not want to see the former president re-elected.
“There’s some evidence that Harris being on top of that ticket could help, especially with young voters, voters that Biden was losing relative to his performance in 2020,” he said, speaking from Washington DC.
“The reasons for that are quite obvious. The American electorate wanted different choices in November. They thought Joe Biden was too old.”
In the swing states too, the Harris team may find some joy if they can harness the youth vote.
Research by the the Centre for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University in Massachusetts found that up to 27 per cent of young people voted in 2022, a record for a midterm year.
That year, turnout was particularly high in battleground states such as Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Its polling – again taken before Mr Biden stepped aside – suggests this year 57 per cent intend to vote, and that of young people “extremely likely to vote”, 51 per cent plan to vote for the Democrats and 30 per cent for the Republicans.
Fresh campaign for Harris
Reaching out to young people and speaking with them goes a considerable way towards helping the young person turn out to vote, Abby Kiesa, the centre’s deputy director, tells The Telegraph.
“And in battleground states, not only are campaigns spending money there to talk to voters, but there are also other organisations who are doing the same.”
She added: “The massive amounts of funding that have gone into campaigns, especially earlier this week, is a huge opportunity to expand outreach to young people.”
Ms Harris also has a big opportunity by not being Trump or Mr Biden.
Months of repetitive Trump rallies and gaffe-laden Biden speeches have been broken by a new, fresh and energetic early campaign from Ms Harris.
A survey published by the Institute of Politics at Harvard – at a time where 70 per cent of the country said they did not want either Mr Biden or Trump – found 53 per cent of young Americans indicated they will “definitely” be voting.
Ms Harris’s team appear to be taking full advantage of her new-found internet fame.
Even the Trump team’s early attacks focusing on what is seen as her more fun and less buttoned-down side are now memes adopted by her own campaign.
One Trump attack ploy tried to highlight one of Ms Harris’s nerdy obsessions by replaying videos of her saying: “I love Venn diagrams. There’s just something about those three circles and the analysis of where there’s the intersection right?”
Even the Trump team’s early attacks focusing on what is seen as her more flighty side and strange quirks are now memes adopted by her own campaign.
One Trump attack ploy tried to highlight Ms Harris’s perceived dopiness by replaying videos of her saying: “I love Venn diagrams. There’s just something about those three circles and the analysis of where there’s the intersection right?”
Now the Harris campaign has swiftly grabbed this piece of the zeitgeist, posting its own Venn diagram on X showing “holding Trump accountable” as the intersection of both the Biden and Harris operations.
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) July 22, 2024
One of the most popular memes being created by the vice-president’s supporters relate to a story told in 2023 and which Trump had been hoping to use to attack her as a sign of lack of seriousness.
Talking about a story about her mother, Ms Harris said: “She would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree’?”
In a line also much copied, he added: “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
Annie Wu Henry, a digital and political strategist told the Washington Post: “They’re so absurd that they work. The videos draw people in and keep them engaged.”
But the Trump campaign machine is still getting going, and its reach is larger and wider.
Despite Trump posting only five TikToks to date, views range from three million to 164 million. The Democrats’ average is 330,000 views per post.
In 2020, when Trump was seeking a second term but was beaten by Joe Biden, there was a record turnout both among young voters and the population as a whole.
This time around the Democrats have an image of support for Israel to shake off.
A recent survey found the most important issues to younger voters were securing a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and the economy.
“Make no mistake, this is a different youth electorate than we saw in 2020 and 2022, and young voters are motivated by different things, wrote John Della Volpe, IOP polling director.
“Economic issues are top of mind, housing is a major concern – and the gap between young men’s and young women’s political preferences is pronounced.”
Sergio Gutierrez, a digital strategist who has worked on a number of political campaigns, cautioned that previous US elections had seen a fervour similar to that currently enjoyed by Ms Harris.
In 2008 and 2012, Barack Obama’s campaign saw “unprecedented online engagement, utilising social media platforms”, she said.
Trump’s 2016 campaign also “generated significant online buzz, leveraging Twitter to communicate directly with supporters”.
Asked if younger voters can help Ms Harris win, he told The Telegraph: “If Harris succeeds in mobilising young voters, it could provide a significant advantage in the election, potentially breaking records for youth participation in the United States.
“Nevertheless, Harris’s team should not overlook other segments that also hold considerable weight. Her strategy must be based on analysing which micro-segments are most effective.”