`

If you know anything about me, you know that I laugh at American politics and politicians, a lot. To be fair, the internet is the root cause of this laughter, and the memes made about every politician, by the public, by the opposing party, and by the politician’s own party are always funny. So instead of talking about the elections, I want to talk about American politics as a whole.

Some of the most recent memes you might remember are Kamala Harris and the Kamala HQ “meme-ifying” their X account by making the account banner say, “kamala hq” in ‘brat’ green after Charli XCX tweeted the same thing. More recently, President Donald Trump was filmed working at a McDonald's as part of his campaign, which inevitably turned into a meme and comedic talking point on every social media platform. However, some of the most memorable jokes were of current President Joe Biden being ‘old’ - of him forgetting his speeches, falling over, stuttering, or simply behaving in odd ways.

Sometimes, it feels like the elections have moved away from being about who is the best candidate, to who is the funniest while simultaneously being the one the least memes are made on. This becomes a distraction from their policies and the harm they are causing. Their humor seems to be equated with being likable, which I hope most people find ridiculous.

This is only a problem because we are obsessed with the internet, reading the news on social media, and using other people’s political opinions to form our own. Studies have shown that in 2023, only 48% of respondents have said that they are “very” or “extremely” interested in the news, which was a significant decrease from 2017. However, at least half of American adults have stated that they consume some news on social media, with the number acquiring their news from TikTok tripling since 2020. What this means is that more voters are now relying on other people’s dissemination of information to formulate their opinions, and since we know how social media echo chambers work, this is not a great sign.

Politicians have also begun to utilize this meme-ification of politics to their own advantage, with political campaigns turning into either a form of support for their party or a clear mockery of the opposition. This is aimed at young voters similar to other tactics being used, such as getting social media personalities or famous singers to endorse one person over another.

We also cannot forget about politicians meme-ing themselves, with Trump putting his mugshot on merchandise, downplaying his crimes, making a mockery of the justice system, and getting his followers to support him and his alleged criminal activity. However, President Trump has always been somewhat of a laughingstock on the internet, with people mocking his makeup, hair, the way he talks, and practically anything else they can.

The Biden campaign followed suit, as they also released “Dark Brandon” t-shirts (a meme that requires too much context for me to explain here) along with putting over 100 candles on his birthday cake and posting a picture with it on Instagram, joking about his age for a caption.

Where I believe a line should be drawn is when racist, sexist, or any other clearly discriminatory thing President Trump has said, and will likely continue to say, is turned into a meme. By making something that serious into a joke, you are downplaying the harm that it will go on to cause. Memes are also shared more rapidly around the internet, causing more people to then see and engage with these comments. For a lot of people, these statements are not funny, they are hurtful, offensive, and actively harming the group affected by them.

Internet jokes are also never just mere jokes, they always end up shaping public perception – Biden as old, Trump as a convict (or a cool rebel for the Right), and Harris as a cool, hip aunt who tries to keep up with the youth but always just misses. While they are always already somewhat reflective of the public perception of the politicians and the concerns that are being spoken about, Americans have started using memes as a coping mechanism to deal with the social and economic state of the country and to help them come to terms with the politicians that they have to elect. More than that though, memes have become a way to spread propaganda about the opposing team, with Trump calling Biden “old” several times while running, even making his own meme of “sleepy Joe” happen.

Memes, and overall internet culture, are highly influential mechanisms for change, both positively and negatively. They’ve helped illustrate the failure of the American electoral process, the ineligibility of both of the candidates, and how American politics are not taken seriously, especially by Americans themselves.

Unfortunately, the rest of the world also has to keep up with American politics, because their politics dictate all of ours, so we are also, subconsciously or consciously, influenced by these memes. They influence how much we end up rooting for one candidate, or the other, or none at all, or lose faith in the system, throwing our hands up in the air, and saying “Better luck next time, America”, knowing damn well it will, in fact, not be better next time.

While I can understand that these jokes are likely a coping mechanism stemming from a place of anxiety and worry about the future of the country, the rest of the world does not have the privilege of viewing their politics as a ‘meme’. Our countries are currently being thrown into wars, our people are dying, and we are suffering at the behest of the American President.

So while Americans make their memes, laugh at their politicians, and complain once every four years about people voting one way and not the other, we have to deal with the consequences every year, every day, every hour. And no matter who the President ends up being, we somehow always get the same result.