American political cartoons have been around since the 18th century. Ben Franklin himself wrote the first ever American newspaper political cartoon in the year 1754, and it was published in the Pennsylvania Gazette.
Intro to Political Cartoons
Political cartoons are still relevant, three hundred years later. However, they look different now than they did back in Ben Franklin’s day.
While they still exist in print newspaper and in online magazines, political cartoons have become much more complex, irreverent, and fast-paced.
With the popularization of social media, they take on many new forms in addition to traditional cartoons. For instance, meme formats have taken over as the new preferred medium.
The Nature of Internet Culture
Memes are, by definition, humorous media that is rapidly spread amongst groups of people. They often follow a repetitive format, making them easy to understand and digest.
Internet culture has been steeped in irony since it began, but it has reached new levels in recent years.
There is also a level of absurdity present in modern internet culture. It does not take itself too seriously, and neither does the content it produces — after all, it’s not real life, right?
Due to its degree of separation from the real world and its repetitive nature, internet culture tends to lack realism, appearing watered down or even meaningless.
The Use of Memes in Politics
Ever since Facebook launched in 2004, people have been sharing their political opinions and agendas on the internet. Political memes have followed the natural progression of internet culture, constituting a deeply human response to a supposedly serious matter.
The use of memes in political landscapes began with social media users simply making fun of or promoting politicians by reposting quotes, images, and screen grabs or recordings from speeches.
As meme culture has evolved over time, political memes have become even more derivative and nonsensical, adapting to trending meme formats. In the recent past, we have even seen political memes create their own meme templates.
An example is the 2021 Bernie Sanders mitten meme. It started with an image of Sanders sitting at Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration and only expanded from there.
Another instance is Kamala Harris’s infamous speech from a 2023 White House event, where she demands: “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” A soundbite was taken of the quote and remixed into a song, which was then used as a TikTok audio. The audio has been trending ever since, and a dance was made to go along with it.
Kamala Harris’ Use of Memes
Kamala Harris, the current vice president and 2024 democratic presidential nominee, has leaned into the memes and used them to her advantage. While she is not the first politician to do so, she is arguably the most successful.
Brat summer is a running joke on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and X (Twitter). It references the 2024 Charli XCX album, Brat, and is a tongue-in-cheek allusion to being a wild party girl that doesn’t take herself too seriously. The concept of Brat summer has recently become synonymous with Vice President Harris herself.
Harris’s PR team jumped at the opportunity to acquire the younger voting demographic, changing the banner of the Kamala HQ X account to mimic the Brat album cover. The move worked, garnering attention and support from younger generations all over the internet.
Gen Z has wholeheartedly embraced Harris’s self-alignment with Brat because of its satirical nature. Brat as an album is about being a party girl. It contains multiple songs with references to cocaine usage and other pop stars, as well as tracks made that call out fans and other artists. Put simply, politics are not exactly Brat, which makes Harris’s joke that much funnier.
On top of that, Charli XCX had a moment in the spotlight back in 2013-2018, when much of Gen Z were teenagers. She blew up on Tumblr, made a few Top 40 hits, and toured with Taylor Swift. There is a level of heart-warming nostalgia that attracts Gen Z to Brat, and, by extension, Kamala Harris.
Harris has gained traction quickly due to her acceptance of internet culture, putting her slightly above Trump in the polls for the 2024 presidential election at 47% (currently).
Donald Trump’s Use of Memes
Former president Donald Trump also has used memes to appeal to his followers and potential supporters. His approach is different than Harris’, instead playing to the humor and interests of the older voting demographic. Additionally, he has not leaned into the chatter on social media quite as much as Harris.
His style of memes is not as steeped in fleeting zeitgeist. They are far less absurd than those of the Harris campaign. He does, however, have his moments. He was neck and neck with Joe Biden for the Gen Z vote before Biden dropped out of the race, polling at approximately 45%.
Joe Biden’s Dropout
Incumbent president Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race in July and was immediately memed. The “It’s Joever” joke spread across social media within hours of the announcement being made.
In true meme fashion, “it’s Joever” has transformed so rapidly that people now use the phrase in conversation completely unrelated to politics or even Biden.
It is arguable that memes insulting and questioning Joe Biden’s competency may have contributed to his decision to drop out of the race. His own constituents mocking him and deeming him to be inept likely made winning seem impossible. Phrases such as “sleepy Joe” exemplify this kind of damaging internet chatter.
Final Thoughts
Memes and internet culture hold significant power in the modern political landscape. They both reflect and influence the public opinion of candidates and policy in a way that appears deceptively casual.
Although the concept of political cartoons is far from new, the fast-paced and unserious nature of modern memes makes for an entirely new iteration of an age-old idea. Political memes provide a new method of broadcasting one’s opinions. Like any and all informational platforms, they have been co-opted for use by politicians themselves.
