In a recent development, Vice President Kamala Harris has made her debut on the popular social media platform, TikTok.
Despite the considerable attention her account has garnered, it pales in comparison to the robust presence of former President Donald Trump on the same platform.
According to the Daily Caller, Harris' TikTok account, launched last Thursday, has already amassed over 2 million followers within 24 hours and received over 6.3 million likes on her profile. However, Trump's social media footprint on TikTok significantly overshadows Harris', with over 9 million followers and nearly 24 million likes since his debut on the platform on June 1.
In her inaugural TikTok post, Harris stated, Well Ive heard that Ive been on the For You page, so I thought I would get on here myself. Her page also includes a cameo appearance in the popular TV show RuPauls Drag Race, where she visited the werk room.
Ever since Harris emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee, her campaign has been the center of several Gen Z-related trends, such as brat girl summer, a reference to Charlie XCXs new album brat. The official endorsement came from XCXs account on X, where she declared, kamala IS brat. Harris has since rebranded her campaign account on X to mirror the branding of XCXs album, demonstrating an attempt to embrace the trend.
Harris' campaign bio on X, which reads adding context, is a nod to a speech she delivered during a May 2023 White House swearing-in ceremony of Commissioners for the White House initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics. This speech, which left many observers puzzled, sparked a wave of ironic memes and online trends that quoted and mocked the presidential hopeful.
During the ceremony, Harris stated, Part of the extension of the work you will do is, yes, focused on our young leaders and our young people, but understanding we also then have to be clear about the needs of their parents and their grandparents and their teachers and their communities, because none of us just live in a silo. Everything is in context. She further added, I dont know whats wrong with you young people. 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. These remarks quickly became a meme, with social media feeds inundated with remixes and edits of the clip.
In contrast, Trump has accumulated over 9 million followers, over 23 million likes, and nearly half a billion views across just five posts. Harris, with four posts, has garnered nearly 57 million views and just over 6 million likes. Trump's first post alone received over 165 million views, over 9 million likes, and nearly 300,000 comments.
Despite Trump's superior social media presence on TikTok, media outlets have been enamored with Harris' social media debut and trendiness. Politico lauded Harris' campaign approach on social media, noting that her videos are largely served up by Gen Z, a critical bloc of voters thats been lukewarm on Biden.
In contrast, when discussing Trump's social media presence, outlets tend to dissect his policy record rather than the effectiveness of his campaign. Many have criticized Trump for joining the platform, given his previous calls to ban the app, even though the Biden-Harris administration signed a bill into law that could potentially ban the platform altogether.
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