Memes, musings, mayhem: Social media reacts to US election

From outrage to laughs, global audiences weigh in

With Team Cat Ladies – or Democrats, as it were – on the brink of defeat at the time of writing, one thing is certain: whichever way this US presidential election swings, social media can be counted on to provide an onslaught of memes and reactions as the drama unfolds. None, perhaps, describes it more adequately than a dog sipping a cup of tea saying, “This is fine” as the world is engulfed in flames around him.

The one marked difference this year? The allegiance of Muslim voters. Those who would have never dreamed of supporting Donald Trump in previous elections want the Democratic party gone after its ongoing support to Israel, which has fuelled relentless brutality in Gaza. Taking to Facebook, a Pakistani netizen has made her sentiments known, penning a heartfelt poem ending with the haunting verse, “They should realise/Right now, today/Genocide will never win/On election day.”

Such feelings are echoed across the spectrum. According to Press TV, Ali Abunimah, the editor of the Electronic Intifada website, tweeted that Harris’s lacklustre performance has been due to her administrations policies regarding Israel and Palestine. “US regime media will not acknowledge what we all know: Biden and Harris’s insistence on perpetrating genocide of the Palestinian people sank them,” wrote Abunimah.

For those who feel, however, that the situation in Palestine will remain unchanged regardless of who is in the White House and that this election is therefore a moot point, social media once again has tailored the perfect meme. Behold, a still from the spoof film Airplane (1980) showing Ted the pilot sweating profusely as he attempts to land an aircraft during a tense moment (symbolising ‘America’) directly above a photo of a man downing a bucket of popcorn (symbolising ‘the rest of the world’).

If you prefer simplicity, there is also a photo of anthropologist Jane Goodall holding a pair of binoculars as if observing the carnage of the election from a distance, bearing the caption, “Fascinating behaviour.”

Whether or not you care for overseas politics, you will be aware that American elections are rarely short on drama, although this year’s edition revved into overdrive. We had current President Joe Biden stepping aside to allow Vice-President Kamala Harris to take over the presidential race. We had Taylor Swift’s impassioned plea staunch and public support. We’ve had high-profile celebrities such as Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Lopez make their allegiance to Harris repeatedly clear across social media.

We have also had an assassination attempt on Republican candidate Donald Trump. We had a comedian at a Trump rally calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage”, sparking mass outrage. For Republicans, however, the damage was minimal, because if Harris had high-profile celebrities behind her back, Trump had billionaire Elon Musk offering to give out a million dollars a day to battleground states in a blatant attempt to sway votes. Musk’s ferocious campaign for Trump prompted horror writer Stephen King to write earlier, “Last tweet from me (probably not from the Musk-Man) before Election Day: if you love democracy, please vote for Kamala Harris.” Prior to this, King had tweeted, “The Musk-man has posted 3,000 times on Twitter in the last month. Most are pro-Trump disinformation and outright lies. Remember, he has skin in the game. Consider his posts accordingly.”

Meanwhile, British poet Brian Bilston, who frequently posts on Facebook to comment on pressing issues of the day in impeccable rhyme and verse, delighted his followers with a poem he had composed just for the occasion. Inspired by Nat King Cole’s Unforgettable, Bilson penned Unelectable, dedicated to Trump, with two lines in particular standing out with their vivid imagery: “Unacceptable, that’s what you are/As delectable as fresh catarrh.”

At the end of the day, for non-American citizens from whom this election will have limited impact, there is one particular Instagram exchange that speaks volumes. As one Indian user writes, “Kamala Harris is not my president.” In response, someone asks, “Why? Are you a Trump supporter?”

“No,” pens back the original poster simply. “I am from India.”