A guide to the language of the US presidential election campaign so far
If a week is a long time in politics, then last month saw enough events in US politics to last an entire year.
Former President Donald Trump named JD Vance as his vice presidential running mate. President Joe Biden’s poor performance in a televised debate led to pressure to withdraw his candidacy. Trump survived an assassination attempt. And Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as the undisputed Democratic nominee, naming Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
In the wake of these events, certain words have shaped the political zeitgeist in the media and social networks. Coconut trees, brat, strangeAnd Vibes were all prominently presented. The Democrats also talked about Joy, Freedomand included new campaign slogans when we fight, we win And We are not going back.
Republicans struggled to get their message across, due to Trump’s lack of discipline (#TrumpMeltdown) and his preoccupation with crowd sizes. However, Vance contributed to the discussion by mentioning childless female cats And stolen courage(There are also other racist and misogynistic things being said about Kamala Harris, but I will not give them any space here.)
Weird and the White House
Probably The The campaign’s message so far is strangeWalz first used it – before he was chosen as the vice presidential candidate – in television interviews to describe Republican policies, particularly MAGA.
Walz argued that he was less focused on the existential threat Trump posed to democracy and more on showing that he, Vance and others (and their worldviews) were “not normal” and thereby stripping them of some of their power. The use of the word quickly gained traction, especially on social media, where it was not hard to find examples of right-wing craziness.
Strange has its origin in an Old English noun meaning “the principle, power, or force by which events are predetermined; fate, destiny” (Oxford English Dictionary).
The change to attributive and then adjectival use was supported by Shakespeare, famously through his “Weyard Sisters” in MacbethThere was still a strong connection to someone who had the power to control the fate and destiny of others.
The switch to using strange to describe something or someone eccentric or strange happened in the 19th century. Since then, it has largely remained a colloquial word. Although not particularly offensive, it usually has the connotation that the person/thing described is confusing and difficult to explain. The use of nouns such as spinner And crazy guy are rather derogatory.
Strange For Walz, it certainly worked: He was offered the position of Vice Presidential candidate. Vance and Trump both tried unsuccessfully to strange label around and use it against your opponents.
Exists in the context of the Brat-Summer
Harris’ campaign is also linked to Coconut trees And bratBoth terms require an explanation.
At an event in 2023, Harris quoted her own mother: “I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. Do you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” She went on to explain: “You exist in the context of everything you live in and everything that came before you.”
The clip quickly became a meme, with images of coconut trees and the word context used as short references. brat has also been associated with Harris via social media. The term can be associated with Charli XCX’s latest album of the same name. The pop star is the pioneer of the trendy lifestyle of bratwhich involves excess, partying, serving and outright chaos in life.
When XCX tweeted, “Kamala IS a brat,” the Harris campaign’s social media accounts adopted the lime green color of the album cover. TikTok videos of Harris featuring the driving beats of XCX’s music remixed with her coconut meme went viral.
XCX’s powerful interpretation of the word brat – used as an adjective rather than a noun – and Harris’ enthusiastic embrace of the trend have created a campaign that young people, especially women, are keen to press play on.
Malice and cat ladies
When Harris was first mentioned as the likely Democratic candidate, Republicans attacked her as DEI setting – someone who only got the job because of “diversity, equality and inclusion.” This was the “polite” version of the racist and misogynistic attacks online and elsewhere.
Walz, who served in the National Guard for 24 years but was never deployed to a combat zone, is also faced with the question of his military career. Some accuse him of stolen courage. This term describes what someone has done when they claim to have served in the war even though they did not serve in the war. This particular attack on his record has been used as an example of Speedboatinga word that emerged during the 2004 presidential campaign when John Kerry’s military service in Vietnam was smeared with lies.
Vance’s own past caught up with him after he made comments about childless female cats World domination has resurfaced online. In a 2021 interview, Vance claimed the Biden administration was “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are unhappy in their own lives… they want to make the rest of the country unhappy, too.”
While Cat lady In the past, “Childless Cat Ladies for Kamala Harris” was considered a derogatory term for older, childless and often unmarried women, but a movement called “Childless Cat Ladies for Kamala Harris” was quickly formed to reclaim the term.
Commentators have suggested that this is an election campaign of Vibeswith the Mood in Harris’ favor.
But a week is a long time in politics …
Top image: Kamala Harris gives a campaign speech. Photo: Sir David/shutterstock.com
