Memes Take a Dark Turn Post-Trump Election

I hate to say it, but when I saw that lubricated hippo go for the Trump cake, I knew it was over. Months ago, I predicted the downfall of Moo Deng, and I’m pleased to say my hypothesis was largely correct: Many on X are now blaming her for the outcome of the United States presidential election. 

I remember the November 2016 election, mostly because I was a freshman in high school, but also because Macklemore released his cheugy trap ballad “Wednesday Morning” in response to Trump’s first election and I liked it (because I was 14, please leave me alone). Eight years later, on another Wednesday morning, I was looking — as Macklemore writes in his song — “for change on the couch.” But on this Wednesday morning, I was also looking for memes. The day after the election, though, social media was so saturated with dread that I couldn’t parse through my feeds without losing my mind. 

As we settle into whatever we are all settling into, memes that have floated to the top of the frankly terrifying world of X reveal how this election inextricably linked pop culture and American politics, with memes simultaneously leading the branding of a $1 billion dollar campaign and becoming a subtle form of resistance. 

I’ll begin the saga before Election Day, when a friend of a friend shared a personalized Brat meme sent by the Kamala campaign reminding her to vote. What started off as a queer fan base meme of Charlie XCX was quickly adopted into the campaign strategy when the singer endorsed Harris, months before Bad Bunny and Beyoncé backed the Democrat. Harris quickly exploited the popularity of the meme, even long after it was officially dead. 

None of these memes are laugh-so-hard-you-pee-yourself, but maybe that era of meme-making died with Vine long ago. This meme cycle, like its accompanying news cycle, is darker and more radical. In contrast to our more buoyant collective Moo Deng psychosis, they find a way to discuss potentially devastating consequences to immigrants and LGBTQ+ folks in a detectably unhinged way. 

Memes from before the election embody a cult fandom for the election as a spectator event, much like tuning into a show like The Bachelor. One highlight from my selection of memes is a mock text exchange of MSNBC journalist Steve Kornacki (who by the way was featured in a live “Kornacki Cam” on YouTube during the election, at a camera angle only showing his backside).

Quickly, these posts devolve into the grimmest imaginations of the human mind about religion, immigration, and gayness, and the recirculation of the celebrity rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” that came out during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I’m sharing my personal favorites below, for my sanity (and yours).