This fall, our nation will face a decision of extreme importance: choosing someone to run our country for the next four years.
Deciding the next leader of our country is always difficult, but this time around will pose many new challenges for the candidates.
With both former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden dominating their respective primary elections, it was shaping up to be a rematch of the 2020 election. On June 27, 2024, the two likely nominees participated in the first presidential debate. The debate highlighted many shortcomings of the candidates and sparked criticisms of each of them on several platforms, especially social media.
According to Domenico Montanaro from National Public Radio, Biden’s performance during the debate, filled with stutters and incoherent sentences, led to concern over “his age and whether the 81-year-old is up to the challenge of handling four more years in office.” Trump on the other hand, according to AP News, “made repeated false claims and provocative statements,” but “seemed smoother and more vigorous than Biden.”
The key takeaway was that Biden’s behavior led to speculation among the Democratic party about whether he was too old to serve, and several members of the party called for him to step down. As a result, on July 21, 2024, Biden dropped out of the presidential election and endorsed his current vice president, Kamala Harris.
With less than four months until Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris took Joe Biden’s spot on the presidential ballot and began campaigning for the presidency. Harris had already become the first female vice president in American history under Joe Biden.
Harris has advocated that she will reduce the cost of food and housing for the working class. She plans to reduce taxes on families while increasing those on big businesses and the wealthy. Harris also champions support for nationwide reproductive rights, which she has made one of her main priorities.
Trump’s policies going into the election include a continuation of his campaign to focus on illegal immigration, especially from the southern border. He plans to continue constructing a wall on the US/Mexico border and to carry out a widespread deportation of illegal immigrants. In regards to economics, Trump has advocated for several major tax cuts that will mainly benefit the wealthy, along with a 10-20 percent tariff on imported goods to protect domestic enterprises.
Both candidates brought these policies and political stances into the second presidential debate, advocating them with arguably more eloquence than the previous debate. The debate also generated a large response on social media.
Perhaps even more memorable than the political views asserted by the candidates, many “meme-able” moments of the election have become prominent on social media. Donald Trump’s false assertion that Haitian immigrants were “eating the dogs,” along with his statement that he had “concepts of a plan” regarding Medicare, has sparked a viral trend of gibing memes on social media.
Kamala Harris, on the other hand, has attempted to use social media to her advantage. After being endorsed by Biden, a meme resurfaced of Harris giving a speech during her vice presidency. Her line, “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” spread like wildfire throughout the internet as the election approaches.
According to NBC News, Harris’ viral line “was almost designed in a lab to become a meme.” This demonstrates a new campaign strategy that utilizes social media and memes to spread support and awareness for Harris’ election bid and recognizes the platform as a crucial influence in the opinions of many young voters.
Harris’ team has also used their own social media platform, Kamala HQ, to spread pro-Harris content. They have generated a following of just over one million on Instagram, increasing Kamala’s influence mainly with the younger generations.
Furthermore, Donald Trump has garnered a following of 27 million on Instagram and also has a prominent online presence, utilizing the platform to spread his policies. The former president even launched his own social media app, Truth Social, in early 2022 after being banned from other major platforms.
As of Oct. 14, 2024, national polls show Kamala Harris leading by a very slim margin, with 48.5 percent of participants choosing her. However, polls also show that Trump is leading with an average of 49 percent of the vote in key swing states, which could heavily impact the results of the election.
After an eventful summer for politics, citizens are preparing for an election like no other. Even global icon and superstar Taylor Swift has urged her followers to register to vote. Voting and the presidential election is an American opportunity like no other, and taking part in a decision that will decide the future of our country is something that every U.S. citizen is encouraged to do.
