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What's With All The Memes About 'Weird Republicans'? The Messaging Tactic Adopted By Democrats Explained
The Democratic Party has long suffered from a peculiar case of The Left Can't Meme, where any attempt to criticize Republican policy points suffers from Trump launching a scathing, and typically hilarious, counterattack.
But with Harris's potential nomination reigniting the party's life force, it seems that the liberal wing of the United States government has finally found the linchpin in their case against Trump; they are saying that the Republican Party is just plain weird.
Mockery is, in some ways, more damning than fearmongering is, and the charges of exhibiting "weirdo behavior" appear to be getting under key Republicans' skin. From Vivek Ramaswamy calling the new strategy "dumb & juvenile," to J.D. Vance doing his best DeSantis impression after being asked about how it feels being called weird, here's how the "Weird Republicans" strategy was rolled out by the Democrats.
Where Did The Strategy Of Calling Republicans 'Weird' Come From?
One of the earliest mentions of Democrats using the word "weird" to disparage their Republican opponents is a quote from Kamala Harris reported by CNN in early July 2024. When asked what she would do if Donald Trump followed her around on the debate stage as he did to Hillary Clinton in 2016, Harris reportedly said that she would turn around and ask Trump, "Why are you being so weird?"
While people on both sides of the partisan divide may agree that Trump can be seen as odd, it wasn't until Kamala put the sentiment into words that people seemed to realize how useful it could be to really point out some of Trump's less defensible oddities. In fact, the tweet acknowledging Harris's quote gathered over 4 million views, with many replies agreeing that Dems should lean into the "Trump is Weird" narrative.
When Did The Democrats Start Using The 'Weird Republicans' Strategy Ahead Of The 2024 Elections?
In July 2024, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz appeared on MSNBC to describe Republican policies on public health and education as "weird," saying, "These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away, they want to be in your exam room, that's what it comes down to … These are weird ideas."
The next day, Harris's own campaign doubled down on Trump is weird messaging, writing, "Trump is old and quite weird?" in a press release sent out from their campaign.
How Did The 'Republicans Are Weird' Strategy Progress As The Harris Campaign Advanced?
More Democratic government officials began latching on to the strategy, picking apart specific Republican policies, including Project 2025 and Vance's assertion that votes should be reserved for people with children. Meanwhile, Tim Walz continued to describe Trump as "weird," calling attention to videos of the Republican nominee repeatedly bringing up fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter in his campaign rallies.
Official campaign advertisements from Democratic Super PACs began parroting the message as well; one video depicted Republican voters as increasingly sweaty sexual deviants who want to dictate what people do in the privacy of their bedrooms.
How Have Republicans And Social Media Users Responded To The 'Weird' Strategy?
On July 28th, 2024, the X[7] account @grandoldmemes posted a meme showing a derogatory caricature of a trans person and Democratic voter with the caption, "JD Vance is weird, to which @BasketCasePA responded by saying, "Taking the time to illustrate this just proves that you are all, in fact, very weird."
Also on July 28th, Vivek Ramaswamy posted a tweet calling the Democrats' new "Republicans are weird" messaging "dumb & juvenile," eliciting a response from @dieworkwear showing Ramaswamy wearing shoes too big for his feet.
More people pointed out how "weird" some fringe right-wing ideas look to the layperson, with many internet users sharing a rather odd post from Tim Pool, a popular conservative commentator, and a journalist sharing the bizarre response he received from one supposed Trump supporter online.
As the strategy gained steam, reports that Trump may regret picking J.D. Vance as his running mate began to gain traction online. News reports in late July seemed to indicate that Trump's campaign was not bolstered by Vance's addition to it, and the recent misinformation campaigns about Vance's special relationship with couch cushions only added to his new "weirdo" label.
To make matters worse, it seems as though the nascent Republican strategy to combat the "weird" narrative is to further promote the phrase "J.D. Vance is weird," as seen in a post about Harris by the V.P. pick himself.
For the full history of "Republicans Are Weird", be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.