10 hilarious memes from the first presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris' Tuesday, September 10 debate quickly became one of the most talked about events in this year's race for the White House. As the presidential nominees launched a stream of attacks on each other over hot-button issues, social media users came up with creative memes surrounding the event. While some moaned about the predicament of the fact-checkers, others took the opportunity to get a good laugh at the candidates' facial expressions. Here are 10 memes that perfectly encapsulate Harris and Trump's fiery debate.
1. Fact checkers' peril
An X (formerly Twitter) user by the name @hosienation depicted the predicaments of the fact-checkers covering the debate by sharing a picture of a tired service worker catching some rest. Referencing the debate that had quite a few dubious claims made by both Trump and Harris, the user joked, "Fact checkers after only 9 minutes of the #PresidentialDebate."
2. Donald Trump's reactions
Another user took a subtle dig at Trump's animated reactions with a "confused John Travolta" GIF, which originates from Quentin Tarantino's 1994 black comedy crime film 'Pulp Fiction'. They captioned the post, "#DonaldTrump everytime a question was asked tonight at the #PresidentialDebate." The user was possibly referring to Trump skirting around several questions during Tuesday night's debate.
3. 'No one ate your cats'
During his debate with Harris, Trump claimed that immigrants in an Ohio city were "eating the dogs, the cats." When moderator David Muir attempted to fact-check him, Trump doubled down on the baseless claim, insisting he had seen people saying that immigrants were eating their pets on TV. Naturally, the social media users did not leave the opportunity to translate it into a meme. A netizen shared an edited image of Trump posing with some papers where it has been written, "No one ate your cats... When I was president."
4. Juxtaposing Kamala Harris and Donald Trump
An X user, @elzey_t, shared a collage of Trump and Harris, referring to their debate. The meme uses the popular satirical portrayal of Trump leaning on a walker to support his unsteady gait juxtaposed with Harris' confident stride in stilettos - not to mention their differing facial expressions.
5. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson reference
Another X user brought in a WWE reference as they used Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's famous line, "It doesn't matter what you think," to express Trump's alleged thought process during the debate. The netizen used the GIF with the caption, "Trump be like 😂😂."
6. The 'Chucky' effect
Someone went a step ahead to equate the expressions of Trump and Harris with that of the scowl of Chucky and smirk of Tiffany Valentine from the horror film 'The Curse of Chucky'.
7. 'Everyone is lying'
X user, @doofinc_, wrote in a disappointed tone, "Everyone is lying and no matter who wins we lose." The user accompanied the seemingly philosophical quote with a 'Tom and Jerry' meme depicting the iconic mouse dressed as a somber detective, complete with a top hat and an overcoat.
8. 'Debate summed up'
X user @KyleKulinski summed up the entire debate with a screenshot for anyone who missed it. In the snap, Trump and Harris are seen in a split-screen view. The vice president is smiling from ear to ear, while the former president has a dull expression on his face
9. Another 'quick summary'
X user @Khallion gave another summary of the Trump-Harris debate. Using images of Disgust and Anger from 'Inside Out', the user depicted the apparently angry scowling expressions of Trump and the smirk-laden side eyes given by his Democratic opponent.
10. 'Illegal aliens'
'Illegal aliens' also found a special mention in the plethora of memes raging on social media. An X user shared a picture of a grotesque statue dressed in pink, writing, "The illegal aliens after their transgender operations." They were presumably referring to Trump bringing up the topic of immigration during unrelated questions as well as the Republicans' concerns surrounding transgender rights.
