Art

Presidential Debate Memes So We Can Laugh to Keep From Crying

We rounded up the best of the best for all you pet-eating, illegal trans aliens out there.

Rhea Nayyar

September 11, 2024 — 6 min read

T-shirts coming soon ... (edit *Hyperallergic*)

Last night's presidential debate certainly lived up to and even exceeded everyone's expectations for predictable absurdity, ridiculous commentary, and a bountiful content harvest across social media. Personally, I can't even confirm if I learned anything about either candidate specifically, but it was illuminating to see the side effects of both Ivermectin and Adderall in action.

As your humble meme dea— ... pharmacist, allow me to provide you with the flight of your life through this sampling of crowdsourced content, which best encapsulates last night's experience:

It's awesome that you could probably get all of this in one shopping trip. (all screenshots Rhea Nayyar/*Hyperallergic*; meme via @votekamala on X)

It's important to remember to come prepared with the essentials in situations like this. The Kamala Harris prayer candle is a nice touch, as is the pulse oximeter. No comments on the hammer.

Most of the memes about last night really boiled down to this:

They must have the same dea— ... pharmacist. (meme via @needtcknow on X)

But let's get into the steaming patty of last night's shit sandwich:

Satan's trifecta assembles (meme via @masonmennenga on X)

In a brand-new sentence in the history of the English language, Trump accused Harris of wanting "to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison." Harris looked both amused and flabbergasted at this, mirroring our collective expressions to the former president and convicted felon's Mad Libs-aligned conservative word salad that probably elicited the most rewinds in live television history.

How many political correctness points did your trans illegal alien score on their woke test? (meme via @anderscjay on X)

Within seconds of Trump's nonsensical utterings, the internet was ablaze with memes about transgender aliens of all shapes and sizes, proving that they aren't exactly a novel concept ... they hate to hear it.

Battle for your life, that's Babylon! (meme via @yolandafister on X)

Freed from her enclosure ... (meme via @zoerosebryant on X)

It is entirely possible that Trump lifted the quote from a scrapped Lana Del Rey EP if we're being serious, though.

Chem trail brain damage side effects (meme via @mattxiv on X)

Another element of the debate that took the internet by storm was when Trump kept peddling that in the town of Springfield, Ohio, Haitian immigrants were eating local residents' dogs and cats, a racist claim that has been rigorously debunked. Debate moderator David Muir fact-checked him immediately, saying that Springfield's city manager shared that there were no credible reports validating such allegations despite what Trump said he "saw on TV."

Santa's Little Off-Brand Hamburger Helper (via @travishelwig on X)

Reeeee-mix! (meme via William Mullin on Facebook)

If you somehow missed out on this gold mine, some geniuses among us discovered the absolute best way to play it back:

What if these two met in horny prison for transgender aliens???

"Honey, cancel the honeymoon suite reservation in the Poconos — We're going to Springfield, Ohio!" (memes via @3pageloveletter and @borntopiss on X)

And now this is also stuck in my head! At least Azealia Banks knows to only futz around with her own dead cat rather than her neighbors' ... 👀

I literally have no notes ... (meme via @xomichaeljohn on X)

Of course, I can't meme the life out of this debate without nodding to Trump's incessant whining about "post-birth baby execution"s ... I mean, late-term abortions. Again, the debate moderators quickly set the record straight, informing Trump that not a single state allows for "termination" after birth. Harris on the other hand (per Trump's mind's eye, at least) ...

Now that we know she does indeed keep that mf thang on her (meme via @MNateShyamalan on X)

Note that this ridiculous rhetoric took place within 10 minutes of the debate beginning ...

I know it was in the job description, but did it have to get so weird? (meme via @hosienation on X)

As funny as the nonsense from the debate might be, some have chimed in with clever but sobering reality checks.

There's a range of emotions to be felt here ... talk about them with your therapist. (meme via @AMarch4OurLives on X)

Also, can I get an iota of concern for all the Afghan Abduls right now?

In between all the ahistorical and made-up drivel, Trump did clarify that he has "concepts of a plan" regarding American healthcare policies and access ... Which should instill a lot of faith in anyone who relies on insulin, right?

You know who else had "concepts of a plan?"

"Birds of a feather, we should stick together ..." (meme via @jamellebouie.net on BlueSky)

Are you taking the red pill or the blue pill this November? (meme via @veryharryhill on X)

Alright, alright ... I should at least get some digs into Harris after all of this. After sounding like a broken record about her and Biden "working around the clock" to secure a ceasefire and hostage return deal in Gaza, it's become clear that this must be the metric of time she's referring to ...

I wish it was all just a dream :-/ (meme via @rwgilmoregirls on X)

And anyone hoping for some attention to environmental protections over the next four years should manage their expectations:

... time to sashay away! (meme via @aguirreryan on X)

While it was dismally entertaining, I really did learn almost nothing policy-wise in those 90 minutes ... Harris's expressions mirror my thoughts on how this could have just been an email.