Tech
TikTok’s Viral Political Remix: JD Vance and Kamala Harris
Explore the viral TikTok remix featuring JD Vance and Kamala Harris, where humor meets politics. Discover how social media is reshaping political discourse and engaging audiences in unexpected ways.
The Viral Political Remix on TikTok
One of the most surprising hits on TikTok this summer is a catchy 22-second hip-hop beat by Petey Pablo, which has been creatively remixed with an audio clip of JD Vance. This snippet features Vance, who was once a staunch opponent of Donald J. Trump, declaring himself “a never Trump guy.” Since its release in July, this track has garnered significant attention, being featured in over 8,500 TikTok videos. Supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris have embraced the remix, enthusiastically dancing and gesturing to the beat, with hopes of establishing an official dance trend. The remix has even been shared by @KamalaHQ, the official TikTok account for the Harris campaign.
As a result, videos utilizing this sound have collectively amassed over 40 million views, according to Zelf, a company specializing in social video analytics focused on TikTok. This track exemplifies a burgeoning genre of political memes that are capturing the attention of users on the popular short-form video platform, which is owned by the Chinese tech giant ByteDance.
As the political landscape heats up, Americans are increasingly turning to TikTok to express their views and create engaging content from snippets of songs and speeches during this election cycle. The app, which saw a surge in popularity during the pandemic, has expanded its user base to an impressive 170 million American users. Notably, about half of those under 30 report using TikTok to stay informed about political issues and events, according to recent data from the Pew Research Center.
“While people continue to dance to various popular songs, we are now witnessing a trend where users are choreographing moves to remixes that blend rap beats with speeches from Kamala Harris,” explains Emma Mont, a digital creator and administrator of the liberal meme account @OrganizerMemes. This shift highlights the evolving nature of political engagement among younger audiences on social media platforms.