Generation Z has turned this election into a meme

Like many University of Michigan students, I will vote for the first time this November. But as the presidential election draws ever closer, I must shamefully confess that I cannot name a single concrete policy proposal put forward by any of the current presidential candidates or their running mate. What I can tell you, however, is that Vice President Kamala Harris is a brat, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is a Midwestern princess, former President Donald Trump loves cats, and Senator JD Vance loves couches. Once I realized that this was the extent of my relevant political knowledge, I began to research more about the candidate’s individual campaigns and policies. But even in the midst of reliable sources, I still found myself in the whirlwind of humorous Gen Z views that sent the internet into a frenzy.

Political cartoons and satire on candidates are nothing new, but they add a new face to this election and have very little to do with legitimate politics. The 2024 presidential election is welcoming a throng of first-time Gen Z voters, and the internet is responding exactly how you’d expect: with completely unrelated memes about the candidates. Kamala Harris is now inexplicably linked to “brat” culture, the lime-green, cool-girl, hyper-pop aesthetic surrounding Charli XCX’s latest album that has taken the internet by storm. The current President of the United States has developed an alter ego called “Dark Brandon” (who shoots lasers out of his eyes?), and the Harris Walz camouflage hat bears a striking resemblance to queer pop star Chappell Roan’s merch. Other corners of the internet are abuzz with artificial intelligence-generated images of Donald Trump protecting animals, and people just can’t seem to get enough of JD Vance’s couch story after someone made up a passage from his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.” Right-wing voters even associate the viral Hailey Welch (better known as “Hawk Tuah Girl”) with the Trump campaign and general conservative values.

And – with the exception of poor Vance and his alleged furniture affair – the politicians are going along with it. Kamala Harris’ official quick response site, Kamala HQ, created her profile Brat theme. for much of last summer, and the bio says “providing context” — a reference to the viral and oft-edited clip of Kamala Harris talking about coconut trees (for reasons none of us can quite explain). Donald Trump has Taylor Swift Eras Tour-themed T-shirts available at his official merchandise store and has posted his own AI animal pictures on Instagram. Both candidates have discovered their way to connect with young voters and they are willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. I’ve certainly seen more political content than usual in my feed since these memes started circulating. So they seem to be doing their job when it comes to reaching Generation Z – but how exactly are they reaching them?

It’s worth noting that none of the viral internet content appears to be due to legitimate political concerns surrounding this election. Why is Generation Z even perpetuating these memes? While preparing for this article, I had to take a step back and ask myself why exactly I was seeing a low-quality, AI-generated image of Donald Trump on a jet surrounded by a collection of colorful cats. I’m not entirely sure. But is it funny in any way? Yes that’s it. I enjoy the products of these trends as much as the next chronic online student, but I have to admit that, at least for me, it’s a coping mechanism for feeling out of control. Of course I want to fight for what I believe in, but I can’t say that any of my current candidate options make me particularly enthusiastic about voting, and that makes voting next month a very daunting task. Instead of confronting these complicated feelings, I prefer to giggle at my phone. And I don’t think I’m alone in this.

To me, this phenomenon seems like Generation Z throwing up their collective hands and giving up on taking American politicians seriously. After watching two geriatric men argue about golf, I think we may have all lost a little faith in the system. However, there is a difference between a lack of trust in politicians and a lack of political engagement. Even before we could vote as young adults and teenagers, we were actively involved in the Black Lives Matter movement, the fight for abortion rights, and the push for gun control and regulation. Generation Z is heavily involved in political activism, we just seem to have a hard time taking politicians seriously at the moment; And have they really given us much reason to? It’s not that we don’t care or that we don’t do anything for what we believe in, it’s just that sometimes we feel a little defeated. I remember feeling a deep frustration at age 16 over not being able to choose, and now that I finally can, it doesn’t feel particularly exciting because I’ve realized it’s much more complicated , than to determine its values. You have to choose someone to represent them, and sometimes we don’t have the best cast to choose from. If you ask me, this is one of those moments. That’s why I and the rest of my peers started doing what our generation does best: making jokes on the internet to avoid our fear of the future.

However, there is more to this phenomenon than just making fun of the candidates and the futility of our current political climate. The idolization we have for the pop culture icons associated with these trending memes is beginning to extend to our politicians. The idea of ​​a political candidate as a pop culture icon is a little scary, considering how people tend to treat their favorite celebrities — defending their every action and consuming their content with a less critical eye. When Trump was elected in 2016, we as a country moved away from our commitment to career politicians, which was part of his appeal to his supporters. This effect is not significantly different from what he and his opposition want to achieve today in the election campaign for the 2024 election. By engaging with pop culture and social media trends, politicians humanize themselves and try to gain more support by making themselves seem likeable. This is why Harris supporters get so excited when she interacts with their favorite artists, and Trump supporters love seeing him cuddle their favorite pet.

It’s all fun and games to make jokes about American politicians on the Internet. But when these same political figures start circulating our completely frivolous and politically irrelevant memes – as hilarious and exciting as they may be – we have to ask ourselves whether they are real or simply aimed at distracting us from the more serious things to distract at hand. They communicate with new voters, but on the basis of humor rather than information about their political intentions. We should probably get into knowing our politicians on a level beyond their favorite favorite or pop singer. That said, please never stop imagining them in elaborate enemies-to-lovers scenarios (if you don’t have fans, I must be dead). I just want to remind you that you don’t owe our politicians anything just because they make you laugh – they should do far more than that.

Statement columnist Paige Wilson can be reached at [email protected].

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