Political memes have come a long way from what is considered the first meme-worthy moment: Howard Dean’s scream during the 2004 Democratic Primary. As political discourse is conducted more in the digital public square of social media, Democrat and Republican campaigns are embracing the idea of memes to communicate with their own voters and set the tone of public debate.
Biden’s team opened up to the Associated Press on how they approach the “meme wars.” While developing a “stockpile” of content that can be used by a variety of social media accounts affiliated with Biden and the campaign, the campaign is also reaching out to “third-party creators” with audiences who “already seem aligned with a pro-Biden message.” The Biden campaign is hiring staff to manage “content and meme pages.”
The Trump campaign provided little detail other than calling Biden a “walking, talking meme every time he shuffles into public view.” Trump’s social media usage is not new. He has always prolifically posted on social media. His usage of the platform then called Twitter was so extensive, that even in 2015 CNN commentator Van Jones argued Trump could be the first “social media president.” Jones argued that Trump had mastered the medium similar to how President Franklin Roosevelt utilized radio to reach Americans, and JFK did the same through television.
When it comes to memes, some believe Biden is at a disadvantage with a “viral internet culture that threatens his image with key undecided voters.” The upcoming debate will be a meme-able opportunity to showcase the internet ideas of an aging Biden and a bombastic Trump.
Among the more recent viral online moments of Biden is the video of former President Barack Obama having to guide Biden off a stage after he allegedly froze up and Biden having to be guided back to a group photo by the Italian Prime Minister after wandering off to chat with a skydiver. The Trump campaign has taken advantage of these viral clips while the White House has coined the phrase “cheap fakes” to describe unedited and un-doctored video.
Trump vs Biden ordering food in Philly: pic.twitter.com/0zMjeiRa1E
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 22, 2024
Even without direction or effort from either campaign, third-party accounts such as Libs of TikTok or End Wokeness have social media audiences large enough to drive the national conversation.
This is a manipulated cheap fake from the Biden team. Biden actually had to block off half (or more) of the venue with curtains cuz he knew he wouldn’t be able to fill it. @CommunityNotes https://t.co/vdNpwRfUoJ pic.twitter.com/b05mYLn8aq
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 24, 2024
It’s not just American politics that has become obsessed with memes. The current parliamentary elections in the UK have become the target of a variety of memes.
Back in the United States, the amount of money being spent on social media and online advertising is evidence of the shift to online platforms. Digital ad spending in the 2024 presidential election is expected to more than double its total in the 2020 election.
