Just after former President Bill Clinton accepted the presidential nomination for the Democratic Party in 1992, he appeared on “The Arsenio Hall Show,” not to discuss politics, but to play the saxophone in sunglasses. To many voters across the United States, this set a fun, upbeat tone for his campaign. He went on to win the election, becoming the 42nd president of the United States.
Today, candidates use current media to reach voters across the country. Current Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is embracing social media trends to connect with younger audiences and voters.
The media has had an impact on the campaigns of the presidential candidates before Harris. Barack Obama, the President of the United States from 2008 to 2016, would play games on talk shows and joke on television. He was perceived as a cool dad and a funny guy, and he leaned into that image.
William Sanchez, is a senior and an eligible voter in November’s presidential election. He believes Harris uses these platforms to boost her campaign.
“I think she uses [social media] because it reaches a lot of people and shows that her campaign is very active,” he said. “Her social media gives her more exposure to young voters […] It focuses a lot on her character and makes her seem like a nice person.”
Harris’ campaign is unique compared to past use of social media because of its reliance on memes, a funny short video or image, and trends. In an article from Time Magazine, reporter Marc Farinella says that Harris’ presence on social media is, “ fun, playful, joyful, optimistic [and] I think voters are very receptive to a campaign with that kind of personality. It connects her to pop culture, it gets the attention of predominantly young voters.”
Donald Trump, the candidate for the Republican party, has a different presence and approach to social media. Trump’s social media presence consists of tweets, small comments he has made on X (previously known as Twitter). Although he got banned back in 2021, X’s new owner, Elon Musk, reinstated his account and Trump made his first tweets again in 2023. Trump mainly connects with his supporters through rallies and public events, speeches and television appearances. He connects with his voters using different strategies and doesn’t have as much outreach through pop culture trends, like Harris.
Leena Karmarkar, a senior, thinks reaching young voters is important.
“[Harris’ team] has made a lot of viral TikToks and has brought a lot of attention to the election for Gen Z and Millenials,” she says. “Young voters get most of their information from social media, so their views are shaped by what appears on their feeds.”
In an article in “Time” magazine, the Harris campaign is trying to reach young voters in three ways. They use online platforms, organize on college campuses and meet young people in places that aren’t affiliated with college. Use of online platforms doesn’t just involve the Kamala Harris social media page. It involves hundreds of influencers using their platforms to spread information and encourage people to vote. Over 200 social media content creators were invited to the Democratic National Convention this past August. Content creators’ involvement in politics encourages their followers to tune in on the Convention and to vote in the upcoming election.
“I think [using social media to campaign] is very smart because a lot of younger people don’t use the news app or read written articles about the election. This is a way to get the news to them and to show what each candidate is really going for,” Karmarkar said.
