As a result of the political world in which we live — where dedication and rectitude are overshadowed by manufactured altruism and blood money — the primary candidates for president this year are Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
This is no ordinary election — the digital world is more influential than ever, and candidates intend to use that fact to their advantage. However, that isn’t a positive when policy is sacrificed in favor of aggressive marketing and romanticizing militarism.
June 30, TikTok user @temhota36 posted an edited video of Harris’ infamous “Coconut Tree” speech with “360” from “Brat,” Charli XCX’s 2024 album, playing in the background. The user also tinted the video lime green, a color synonymous with the album. This video and others like it led to an influx of support for Harris from young people who were skeptical of President Joe Biden’s ability to manage the presidency. This was furthered by Biden dropping out of the presidential race on July 21, and Charli XCX posting “kamala IS brat” to X, garnering 56 million views.
This isn’t only an issue within the Democratic party. On social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, it’s common to see compilations of former President Trump making sly comments during his rallies and interviews. These videos, at times, are even made by young people who oppose Trump and his policies. At what point will politics stop being funny? And when did they become a joke?
Having a sense of humor about the world’s political climate doesn’t directly hurt anyone, but the emphasis on actual policies is lost when politicians get in on it. Harris’ campaign website completely lacked policies until the evening of Sept. 8. Before this, her support was gained by her aggressive pandering to the younger generation through online public relations and blind support for any candidate who was not Trump or Biden.
The 2024 presidential election puts a lot of important issues at risk, like reproductive rights and immigration laws. Trump being America’s sassiest president and Harris having a TikTok meme page become irrelevant when lives are on the line and the ballot. This is especially true when both candidates have expressed no plan to stop the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Celebrity endorsements are their own beast entirely. Up-and-coming queer artist Chappell Roan faced an onslaught of backlash this past September for refusing to endorse either candidate after celebrities like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish endorsed Harris.
“Endorsing and voting are completely different,” Roan said, adding, “That’s why I can’t put my entire name and entire project behind one, because there is no way I can stand behind some of the left’s completely transphobic and completely genocidal views.” In a prior video, she criticized her online fans’ lack of media literacy — an all-too-common problem. The blind following of celebrities and the expectation for them to have the “correct” opinions on every issue is lethal for tangible political action.
To preempt that lack of media literacy, criticism of Harris’ campaigning does not imply support for Trump. That is exactly the point Roan attempted to make in her videos on the subject, which fell on deaf ears. The fear of a “Project 2025” agenda is stirring chaos and desperation among many leftists, pleading with critical thinkers like Roan to compromise their desire for an arms embargo on Israel to protect the “sanctity of democracy.” This hysteria leads to the denial and ignorance of Harris’ views, many of which are also clouded by her aggressive public relations efforts.
Trump’s strategy, however, is fundamentally different from that of Harris. Aside from appearing on a live stream with popular Twitch streamer Adin Ross, Trump has not put nearly the same emphasis on endorsements and publicity that Harris has. Instead, he uses the failures of the Biden administration to reflect on what the Harris administration could look like, a strategy that is particularly powerful in garnering support. His primary demographic seems to be individuals who would likely not vote for a Black woman regardless, and this helps reinforce his campaign while also trying to appeal to Hispanic voters — which is shockingly succeeding.
The problem with Trump’s effect on people through public relations does not come from his campaign efforts, but more from the weaponization of his supporters. After the July 13 assassination attempt on the former president, political scientists felt this could improve Trump’s chances at reelection. While data from the New York Times did not prove this correlation, it did show lessened support for Biden in the days leading up to his dropping out of the race.
What made this a shining moment for Trump was when he, covered in blood and shielded by Secret Service agents, raised his fist into the air in an act of defiance. This excited his supporters, with Trump allegedly chanting “Fight!” while being escorted out of the rally. The ability to rile up his supporters with his embodiment of the long-soured American spirit that still resides in many older people is the signature Trump charm that resulted in a now-acquitted charge for inciting the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump’s appeal to voters through his authentically ignorant patriotic spirit and the pouring of Harris’ campaign funds into her TikTok account is the most obvious display of the current state of American politics. It’s important, especially for young voters, to be aware of the policies that they’re voting for, and to not be led astray by the misinformation and propaganda that comes out during an election year.
This article appeared in print on Page 11 of Vol. LVIII Issue VI, published Nov. 4, 2024.
