MEMEABILITY RATINGS — There’s a vibe shift brewing on TikTok: The platform, which had been dominated by pro-Trump content, has been exploding with Kamala Harris memes, many of which favorably highlight her quirky demeanor and tie her to the trendiest cool girl anthems.

Even before President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race on Sunday, Harris memes created by TikTokers had dominated social media, flooding mostly young people’s feeds with video edits of her viral phrases, quirky tangents and “girl boss” moments — like this video of Harris laughing away, with a hint of the signature Gen-Z irony in the caption, which reads “Why did I make this.” These memes paint Harris, who has rarely been in the spotlight during the Biden administration, as a chill auntie — someone who could dish out advice that is both a little silly yet serious at the same time.

Until now, former President Donald Trump has dominated TikTok, where pro-Trump posts nearly doubled the number of pro-Biden posts, according to a May New York Times analysis. When Trump officially created an account in June, the account gained 2.1 million followers in a day — a follower count that still remains higher than Kamala/Biden HQ’s 1.2 million. “When you think about why and how Trump got elected and why he’s making inroads with younger … audiences, it’s because he’s memeable, and when you’re memeable, you’re a bit more personable,” said Chi Ossé, a progressive activist who is the youngest member of the New York City Council.

The popularity of Harris content on the platform, however, suggests a welcome change for Democrats. Annie Wu Henry, a Democratic digital and political strategist and a pioneer in TikTok marketing, points to Harris’ relatability as her greatest strength. The clips that have gone viral “show that she’s a person that they can relate to, and she has some personality,” Henry said. It’s a stark contrast to Biden’s presence on TikTok, which mostly focused on anti-Trump content, and was a frequent topic of jokes from late night hosts.

According to Henry, the memes reflect a cautious hope around the new likely nominee from the younger electorate, after a long period of dread over Biden’s candidacy — a man who they viewed as too old and centrist. “She is at a unique position in that there is a lot of potential that people see in what her presidency could be from a historic [viewpoint] as the first black woman, Asian woman, to hold the title, but also what it could mean politically,” Henry said.

Harris’ campaign hasn’t wasted a moment in jumping on the meme momentum, and their efforts have paid off. The campaign’s TikTok account, Kamala HQ, has been posting in true Gen-Z fashion: using the music of the platform’s heartthrob Chappell Roan, deploying the generation’s characteristic sarcasm (“omg they put us on cnn” the account sarcastically wrote as they screenshot a segment covering the campaign) and even speaking their language (“photos of Kamala with ∞ aura,” a reference to a trend that equates “aura points” to coolness).

As a result, Kamala HQ — which was formerly Biden HQ before its rebranding on Sunday — has amassed over 40 percent of the likes the account has ever received in just three days, despite the account having been active since February for Biden’s campaign.

Although the memes are funny, they embody more than the internet’s collective need to crack a joke after the last few weeks of political chaos. They represent a growing level of engagement from younger voters, many of whom had felt alienated by Biden’s campaign. Although the voting bloc largely leans blue, polling during Biden’s candidacy showed that his grip on younger voters was slipping: In one late May polling matchup against Trump and third party candidates, Trump led by 6 points among Gen Z and millennial voters. How Harris will fare among younger voters remains to be seen — and polling among Gen Z voters tends to have mixed results to begin with — but Democrats are hopeful that the meme campaign will give her a polling bump among them.

A post from TikTok user Emma D, which has garnered over 900,000 views over the last 48 hours, best crystalizes that hope: “The memification of Kamala’s campaign is going to win her the election bc she’s the first candidate in years (ever?) to treat young ppl as a serious and important voting demographic. Incorporating gen Z culture into her marketing campaign is not only very brat, it also validates the importance of young voters as a population worth marketing to.”

Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at [email protected]. Or contact tonight’s author at [email protected] or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @ck_525.

What'd I Miss?

— No end to the war in Gaza yet, Netanyahu tells Congress: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defiantly insisted that Israel will not allow the Hamas militant group to survive in remarks today to Congress — a message that could undermine White House-backed efforts to bring about a cease-fire and end the bloody war in Gaza. In his speech to a joint meeting of Congress, Netanyahu also blamed the Islamist regime in Iran for the many perils his country faces, sharply criticized U.S. protesters opposing the war, and spoke of a future Gaza that is “demilitarized and deradicalized.” He called for ongoing support from the United States, saying that Israel is on the frontlines of a battle against terrorism that affects American citizens.

— Trump shooter had a drone and multiple explosive devices, FBI director tells lawmakers: FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed to lawmakers today that law enforcement recovered a drone and explosive devices from the gunman’s vehicle as part of its investigation into the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. Wray cautioned that the investigation is still ongoing, but said it appears at this point that Thomas Crooks had used the drone on the day of the shooting around 4 p.m. roughly 200 yards from where Trump spoke.

— Nancy Pelosi endorses ultra-progressive San Francisco official, an Elon Musk foe: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has endorsed San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston, a progressive lightning rod, as he faces a tough reelection challenge in a local race that has drawn the attention of other national figures from Elon Musk to Bernie Sanders. The endorsement comes as Preston, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has faced an onslaught of attacks from political advocacy groups, bankrolled by tech investors, who are critical of his opposition to tough-on-crime policies. Those groups are spending heavily to back Bilal Mahmood, a moderate Democrat, tech entrepreneur and former Obama administration staffer.

Nightly Road to 2024

MISSING IN ACTION — Former President Donald Trump has solidified Republican support in the wake of an assassination attempt and unity-building national convention, while Vice President Kamala Harris has seamlessly stepped into the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden withdrew his candidacy. But Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is nowhere to be seen.

Instead of campaigning, the independent challenger has canceled multiple campaign events and discussed dropping out of the race and backing Trump. Instead of raising serious donations, he’s continuing to rely on his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, and set up a joint fundraising committee with the Libertarian Party. Instead of moving up in the polls, where he’s been stagnant for months, Kennedy has called for himself to be picked as the Democratic nominee to replace Biden.

TICKING CLOCK — If anyone is going to challenge Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination, they have only until this weekend to do it. Delegates to the Democratic National Convention rules committee approved the virtual roll call today, moving ahead with a July 30 deadline for candidates seeking to collect delegate signatures to appear on the virtual roll call. The virtual roll call, which must be completed by Aug. 7 to comply with Ohio ballot access deadlines, could start as early as next Thursday.

MOVING LEFT — Amid speculation he’s on Vice President Kamala Harris’ shortlist for a running mate, Sen. Mark Kelly’s (D-Ariz.) spokesperson said he will support a piece of pro-labor legislation. Kelly did not co-sponsor the legislation known as the PRO Act, provoking the ire of some progressives and labor unions. It was unclear whether it was a red line for organized labor for him to be considered as Harris’ vice president. The PRO Act would make the process of creating unions or signing onto unions much easier for workers.

DOUBLE STANDARD — Senate Republicans are blasting Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress. At a press conference on Capitol Hill, Republicans accused Harris and President Joe Biden of “waffling” in their support for Israel and criticized their decisions not to greet the polarizing Israeli leader upon his arrival. Republicans did not attack their colleague and Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who is also not attending Netanyahu’s speech due to a prior commitment.

AROUND THE WORLD

WE’RE PUTTING TOGETHER A TEAM — Europe’s two largest donors of military aid to Ukraine — Germany and Britain — are buddying up in a defense pact as fears grow that a victory for Donald Trump in November’s U.S. election could spell disaster for European security.

Concerns that Washington could dramatically rein in support for Ukraine next year have only increased since Republican candidate Trump picked JD Vance as his running mate. Vance repeatedly stresses his opposition to the U.S. writing what he has called “blank checks” to help Kyiv fight off Russian invasion.

Britain is a stalwart supporter of Ukraine and that will continue under its new center-left Labour government, under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which won a landslide election this month.

The country’s new Labour government is more enthusiastic about forging deeper defense cooperation with European allies than its Conservative predecessor, and moved quickly to sign a cooperation deal with Germany today.

DEFICIT DRAMA — France must cut its public deficit by €112 billion ($121.4 billion) over the next seven to 12 years if it wants to avoid entering a debt spiral like Italy, economists advising the government said today.

Unlike its southern neighbor, France can still avoid falling into the trap of having to spend too much to pay its debt back, but it must act fast, the Council of Economic Analysis said.

Over the past month, French President Emmanuel Macron’s administration has started to bring some order to public finances after years of high spending after the pandemic and the rising cost of energy.

“The good news is that France has so far remained in control of its own destiny,” Council members Adrien Auclert, Thomas Philippon and Xavier Ragot wrote. “Our debt is the direct consequence of our budgetary choices. It is not the mechanical accumulation of a snowball thrown down a steep hill” as opposed to Italy, where public debt continues to grow because of rising interest rates despite spending cuts.

The note recommends reducing the primary deficit — the difference between how much a government brings in and how much it spends minus interest payments — by 4 percent of the country’s GDP over the next seven to 12 years.

Nightly Number

RADAR SWEEP

SELLING HIGHS — After Colorado legalized recreational marijuana in 2014, the floodgates opened — more states started to legalize, and fast. But many of these states had poor plans to regulate how cannabis products can be sold, leading to a myriad of other problems. Now, according to experts, there’s a similar effort to legalize some psychedelics. If and when legalization happens, there could be similar issues with the rollout, as many states push laws quickly through. The question is — how will it be sold, and have state governments learned from the past? Oshaw Jarow reports for Vox.

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