Ahead of the 2024 US election on November 5, it's not only the politicians and their campaign managers who have been burning the midnight oil, it's also the meme-makers on social media who have used every opportunity that the fight between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump offered, to spark laughter and... prove a point.
Voters have encountered AI-generated videos of former US president Trump riding a cat while wielding an assault rifle, pictures of vice president Kamala Harris in communist attire, and even a song written on Trump's absurd allegations of migrants eating their pet cats.
Here are a few of the meme-worthy incidents in the run-up to the polls:
Trump's support to orphan squirrel and internet sensation euthanised by officials
The former US president being "fired up" over the recent death of "Peanut" the viral squirrel, still has the meme machines churning out images presenting him as the saviour of animals. The death has become a flashpoint in the elections. Peanut was seized from its owner’s home and euthanised by state officials over concerns of rabies.
'Please don't eat my cat': South African singer's parody song Donald Trump is viral. Watch
"Eating the cats", a parody song by The Kiffness that sets to music Trump's extraordinary claims during the US presidential debate that migrants in Ohio "are eating the dogs, eating the cats", has been viewed more than 8.7 million times on YouTube alone in 12 days. Created by a pet-loving musician from South Africa, whose real name is David Scott, the lyrics include: "People of Springfield please don't eat my cat... Why would you do that?/ Eat something else."
When Iowa turned blue according to a recent poll
Over the weekend, a new poll placed Harris ahead of Trump in Iowa -- a state in which Trump triumphed in 2016 and 2020. The poll, carried out by Des Moines Register/Mediacom, gives Harris a three-point lead over her rival, Forbes reported. If accurate, it will be the first time since Barack Obama won the state in 2008 and 2012 that Iowa supported Democrats. That's why, not many were surprised when the poll result spurred a series of memes across the internet.
Biden's 'garbage' comment on Trump supporters
Social media erupted with a flood of memes after US President Joe Biden compared Donald Trump's supporters to “garbage" during a campaign event. The comment, intended to condemn a racially charged joke about Puerto Rico made at a Trump rally, quickly backfired.
English singer Charli XCX drives Harris's campaign, triggers more memes
A day after Harris launched her presidential bid, her campaign account on X, KamalaHQ, had gained more than 5 lakh followers, Al Jazeera noted. It was at the same that Charli herself endorsed the US vice president in a three-word X post that rattled cyberspace and that Harris’s campaign quickly appropriated: “kamala IS brat.” Brat is Charli’s sixth studio album which was released on June 7.
Soon after, Harris's account’s cover image had the words “kamala hq” sprawled across a backdrop similar to Charli's album cover.
In an interview, Charli described a brat as “that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes”. The sentiment has resonated with many social media users.
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