The Return of Meme Magic?

Trump and 2024

Much is already being said about the Trump 2024 campaign. There is an attitude being promulgated on Twitter, among other places, about some dissatisfaction with Donald Trump’s present campaign methods and rhetoric. In essence, the disquiet is about his unwillingness to bring back the 2016 energy. Shitposting on main, indeed.

There are several reasons why the 2016 energy will not be the case this time around. The first reason is that, simply, everyone is eight years older. The shitposters who incessantly spammed Pepe memes in 2016 no longer exist in the scene. They have moved on to other things. It’s been said that the Alt-Right 1.0 was a very “Millennial” movement. The people involved, if they have not ended up in prison, are simply aging out of political activism. That’s a young person’s game.

Likewise, Trump himself is an old man. Despite his undeniable vigor, age simply is undefeatable. He puts on a great show, but it would not surprise me if he felt comparatively drained after campaign events.

The second reason is that the situation has also greatly changed. With increased age comes greater maturity. We know things now that many of us were unaware of before. The fallout from January 6, 2021, and COVID-19 hangs over us all. We have felt the sting of setbacks. This is true on many levels, whether politically, psychologically, intellectually, etc. There is greater desperation on both sides of the political aisle. The youthful optimism and fun atmosphere of 2016 have evaporated. This means that everyone knows the stakes, and the world seems to hang in the balance of a very thin thread.