This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s fall editorial intern Jason Tsoi. Find him on Instagram at @jason.tsoi. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
With just under 50 days until Election Day, the race for the White House is heating up across the country. As days pass, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are vigorously campaigning to win the votes of Americans on the ground. But, with the existence of social media, both campaigns are also taking to popular social media platforms, like TikTok and Instagram, to specifically appeal to a key demographic: the youth.
That’s when Kamala HQ and Team Trump come in. With hundreds of thousands of followers, both official social media campaign pages are actively using social media to energize potential young voters (18-29) and get out the vote. But why is the youth vote so important this time around?
The Importance of the Youth Vote
Looking back at how close the 2020 presidential election was in critical battleground states, the youth vote may make the difference in who wins this year’s crucial presidency. This election cycle, over 40 million Gen Zers are eligible to vote, including over eight million new potential voters who have reached the voting age, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
As more young people join the electorate, they are making their voices heard on the important issues facing the country. In a national poll conducted by the Institute of Politics, top issues that matter most to younger voters this election include the economy, gun violence, safeguarding democracy and reproductive freedoms. So, how are Kamala HQ and Team Trump trying to appeal to young voters? By engaging in current social media trends popularized by the youth.
The “‘Symphony’ Dolphin” Trend
While scrolling through your social media feed last month, you may have come across a vibrant image of dolphins and rainbows, accompanied by Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson’s “Symphony.” The meme, which originated from TikTok user @heiratet, went viral for its pessimistic caption, “I’m depressed,” contrasting the cheerful image and upbeat music. In response, both campaign pages participated in the trend, criticizing their political opponent and supporting their candidate.
A week after the original post, Kamala HQ posted their own version on TikTok, denouncing Project 2025 — a conservative policy plan designed to aid the next Republican administration. The campaign account captioned the image with, “Donald Trump’s Project 2025 is a threat to our democracy” and advised viewers to research the agenda. Since several members in Trump’s administration contributed to Project 2025, the Harris campaign is driven to linking the agenda directly to Trump. During the presidential debate, the former president claimed he had “nothing to do with Project 2025” and that he did not read it.
On the other hand, Team Trump engaged in the trend by indirectly criticizing the Biden-Harris administration for their stance on foreign policy. The image’s caption read, “Vote for Trump unless you want to be drafted to fight World War III.” In this election, the Trump campaign has focused on tying the Biden administration’s handling of foreign conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine War and the war in Gaza, to Harris. At the debate, the vice president reaffirmed her commitment to supporting Ukraine and getting a hostage deal, as well as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestine.
The “Aura” Trend
Another trend you may have seen on social media were videos with the word, “aura.” Typically, people referred to “aura” in a spiritual sense before the term was popularized on social media. But, the term took on a new meaning after a New York Times article on Virgil van Dijk, a Liverpool footballer, circulated among the soccer community on X. The article stated that Van Dijk’s “mistakes can be dismissed because, basically, he has an aura.” Since then, people have used the term to describe the measurement of someone’s coolness. Here’s how Kamala HQ and Team Trump took part in the trend.
Just days after Biden dropped out of the presidential race, Kamala HQ immediately stepped up to energize voters behind Harris. On TikTok, the campaign page jumped onto the trend with a slideshow containing the caption, “photos of Kamala with [infinite] aura.” The slideshow featured images from Harris climbing up the stairs of Air Force Two to walking down the halls of the Capitol.
The social media campaign continuously participated in the trend, posting a video of Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, walking into their first joint campaign rally together. And later, another slideshow of Harris on stage at the Democratic National Convention. Both posts displayed the caption, “Aura.”
Whereas Team Trump just recently joined in on the trend with a video of the former president alongside the caption, “Infinite aura.” The video shows Trump pointing and smiling at the camera while attending the Sept. 11 Memorial service. The video includes Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me” playing in the background.
Other social media campaign strategies
Besides using templates of current trends, both social media campaigns are also producing their own content in an effort to attract younger voters.
At a Harris-Walz rally, members of Kamala HQ created their own version of the “I hope they play…” trend. But instead of asking for Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!” the social media campaign requested Beyoncé’s “Freedom” — a song commonly played at Harris’ campaign rallies.
At the same time, members of Team Trump are taking a different approach by copying the former president’s dance moves at his campaign rallies. In the video, the social media campaign members are dancing to 2 Chainz’s “Feds Watching.”
So, will Harris and Trump’s social media campaigns help drive up young voter turnout for their candidate this November? In the end, the decision lies with the younger voters.
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What are your thoughts on Kamala HQ vs Team Trump? What do you think about their strategies to get the youth vote? Let us know in the comments.
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