The US presidential election was not only marked by dramatic events, such as the attack on former President Donald Trump and the withdrawal of current President Joe Biden, but also by a distinctive vocabulary that has become an integral part of the election campaign, largely influenced by social media.
Expressions like “weird,” “woke,” “spoiled,” and Donald Trump’s famous slogan “MAGA” (Make America Great Again) have had a significant presence in online debate, and according to experts, could have a profound impact on how voters identify with candidates.
Lucas Leite, PhD in International Relations and Professor at the Armando Álvares Pinteado Foundation (Faap), highlights the importance of these words to the BBC: “First, they are expressions that are easy to remember and spread. They quickly build a common identity that carries something more complex than just a term. They help to identify who is being supported, how they are being supported and why.
Kamala Harris and the term “brat”
Kamala Harris, the current vice president and potential presidential candidate, has been called “brat,” a term that has been trending on TikTok among young people. The word, which is also the title of British singer Charli XCX’s latest album, has been associated with Harris in an attempt to project her image as young, easygoing and accessible.
Kamala is naughty
– Charlie (@charli_xcx) July 22, 2024
In a video posted to TikTok, Charli XCX describes “Naughty” as “a girl who’s a little bit disorganized, loves to party, sometimes says shit. Feels good about herself, but has crises. And has a good time despite everything. She’s very honest, very direct, a little bit volatile. Does stupid things. That’s ‘Naughty.'”
Kamala Harris, as the first black and South Asian woman to serve as vice president, is already an atypical figure in American politics. “It shows that she’s breaking patterns, especially in a country with the history of the United States, where she’s running against an older white man who advocates conservative positions,” Light says.
Silvio Weisbord, a professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, notes that the Harris campaign is clearly trying to reach young people, especially women and voters of color. “They’ve really tried to present her in a more accessible way than a traditional political figure,” Weisbord notes, highlighting the strategic use of populist language to engage Gen Z.
The “Stranger” Effect on the Democratic Campaign
“Weirdo,” which translates to “strange” in Portuguese, is the term the Kamala Harris campaign chose to describe Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance. The epithet was first used by Minnesota’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, who later became Harris’s vice president. “He’s just a strange, strange guy,” Walz said of Trump at an event, a phrase that quickly gained popularity and was adopted by the Democratic campaign.
The approach resonated with Democratic-leaning voters, making voting for Harris more of a rational choice than a civic obligation. But the “weird” label bothered Trump, who responded: “They’re the weird ones. Nobody’s ever called me weird. I’m a lot of things, but weird is that I’m not,” Trump said in an interview.
MAGA continues
The slogan “MAGA,” short for “Make America Great Again,” has been a staple of Donald Trump’s campaigns since 2016. Used extensively on red hats and other campaign items, the slogan appeals directly to Republican voters.
“It’s emotional, simple, easy to understand and shareable,” says Ben Ostrower, a marketing specialist, highlighting the slogan’s effectiveness in creating a strong identity among Trump supporters.
Lucas Light recalls that when Ronald Reagan first used the phrase “Make America Great Again” in his 1980 campaign, he was trying to salvage national pride. But he asks: “Greatness for what? For what period? For whom?” This thinking is particularly relevant today, because “MAGA” is often associated with white nationalist and racist discourses that seek to define the “real” American as Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, and white.
On the other hand, Democrats have tried to avoid direct criticism of MAGA, given that previous attempts to attack the white working-class voter base have had negative effects.
