The Harris-Trump debate is over—but the memes carry on

Days after Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump went head-to-head in their first (and so far, only) televised debate, the memes don’t appear to be slowing down.

Bringing Simpsons memes to Springfield

After  Trump’s unhinged and unfounded claim that migrants in Springfield, Ohio, are “eating cats” continues to circulate online—”In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in,” Trump said during the debate. “They’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.” 

As you can imagine, the internet ran wild with Simpsons memes. One meme spliced his words with an animated clip from the show famously set in Springfield. “Donald Trump thinks he’s living in The Simpsons,” another X user wrote, alongside a clip from the show where they are actually cooking up dog soup. Another saw a clip of Bart Simpson writing “They’re eating the dogs” over and over on a blackboard. 

(The Trump camp, for its part, doubled down on the lie, posting AI-generated images depicting Trump as the saviour of fluffy kittens and ducks.)

“Concepts of a plan” catches on

Repeatedly asked whether or not he had a plan in place for healthcare, Trump responded vaguely, “I have the concepts of a plan, and you will be hearing more in the near future.”

Users on X were quick to jump on his comment, comparing the former president to everyone from Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin—whose fans are still waiting for the sixth installment in the series a decade on—to Cousin Greg from Succession. 

“I have concepts of a plan”—me when something is due and I have two lines written in a Google Doc,” quipped one X user. “I have concepts of a plan”—when my mom asks what I’m making for dinner & I’m looking at a tub of hummus,” chimed in another. 

Detox has entered the conversation

Another much-memed moment came from Trump’s (again, totally disingenuous) claim that Democrats wanted to “do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison.” “Me leaving jail after getting a free transgender alien surgery,” one X user wrote alongside a screenshot of RuPaul’s Drag Race star Detox serving her iconic head-to-toe silver look. 

Another X user succinctly put it: “A Day in the Life of an Immigrant, According to Donald Trump: wake up in jail, get your transgender operation, for breakfast, dog, take over Seattle. For dinner, cat.”

“She’s mastered the face of pity and disgust”

While many put Harris as the winner of the debate, even receiving an endorsement from global pop star Taylor Swift moments after the debate ended, the vice president’s exasperated facial expressions also made it to the meme library. “Step aside math lady . . . there’s a new meme in town #debate,” one X user wrote. “Kamala’s inability to control her facial expressions is something I really identify with #PresidentialDebate2024,” wrote another.

Others online found Harris’s expressions all too familiar. “She’s mastered the face of simultaneous pity and disgust, and every woman knows that is *the* most important combo,” wrote one X user. Another simply added: “fellas when you see this face . . . run.”

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