Spring 2025: Callie Reing
TikTok Narratives: An Analysis of Harris’s and Trump’s Strategies Following the 2024 Presidential Debate
Callie Reing
Strategic Communications, Elon University
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in an undergraduate senior capstone course in communications
Abstract
Presidential debates are pivotal events in elections, shaping public opinion and voter behavior. Since the advent of televised debates in 1960, candidates have adapted their strategies to align with emerging media. In the modern era, social media, particularly TikTok, has become a crucial platform for political messaging, influencing discourse, and voter engagement. This research examines how 2024 presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, used TikTok to report on the debate. Content analysis was used to assess the messaging strategies used by both Trump’s and Harris’s campaign teams, primarily inspecting the posts’ primary messaging and framing, tone, intended target audience, and reach/engagement. The results indicated that the majority of posts from both candidates verified TikTok accounts negatively framed their opponent and adopted an overall negative tone. In addition, the posts with added production value generated more views and likes than those that simply posted a clip from the debate. Findings suggested that political TikToks aligned with TikTok trends or Gen Z humor were more successful than those not. Furthermore, the analysis highlights an increasing polarization in political campaigning as strategies centered heavily around attacking the opponent.
Keywords: TikTok, content analysis, campaign strategies, political communication, presidential debate
Email: creing2@elon.edu
I. Introduction
Debates between leading presidential candidates have been an important practice in modern times. Since the first nationally televised debate in 1960 between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, candidates have used the platform to frame themselves and their policies in a more appealing light to attract voters.
Presidential campaign teams have employed strategies during and after the debate to cultivate positive perceptions of their respective candidates. From the first televised debate up to today, teams have adjusted their candidates’ appearances, body language, policy focus, and sentiment to portray the politician in an intended manner. For instance, in the first televised debate featuring Nixon and Kennedy, Kennedy’s team did his makeup, advised him to wear a dark suit, and checked the temperature and lighting of the room, to ensure he looked appealing, prepared, and fresh on black and white television (“Scholarly Analysis of the Kennedy-Nixon Debates,” n.d.). Following the 2020 Presidential Debate, former president and candidate Donald Trump used two main strategies: attack and highlight. He attacked the weaknesses of his opponent, Joe Biden, while highlighting his previous achievements as president (Beavers, 2024). On the other hand, Biden’s teams used contrast and policy-focused strategies, emphasizing the difference between Biden’s vision and Trump’s presidency while highlighting Biden’s policy proposals on popular issues such as healthcare, the economy, and the COVID-19 response (Associated Press, 2023).
As the popularity of social media platforms has risen, campaign teams have used them to shape public perception of their candidates. In 2016 Trump used X, formerly known as Twitter, as it was one of the biggest platforms of the time (Greenwood, 2016). Today, TikTok has emerged as a growing and dominant social media platform with 53.5 million weekly average users, up 75% in a year (Koetsier, 2021). Recently, presidential candidate campaign teams have capitalized on the reach of this app by creating accounts that post content using both political and TikTok jargon. Trump’s certified campaign team TikTok account, @teamtrump, had 1.7 million followers and 37.1 million total likes in late 2024. Harris’s account, @kamalahq, was initially created as @bidenhq in February as President Biden’s campaign account before he dropped out of the election. The account name was changed to @kamalahq in July 2024 (Harvey, 2024) and had 4.6 million followers and 157.5 million total likes late that year.
This research explores Harris’s and Trump’s presidential campaign strategies following their candidate’s performance in the September 10, 2024, presidential debate, through their respective TikTok accounts. No prior study has investigated the strategies used by presidential campaigns on TikTok following one of the most influential events in an election.
II. Literature Review
Previous research has explored the impact of presidential debates, how presidential campaigns use framing techniques to leverage their candidates, and TikTok’s growing influence. This literature review will cover research conducted in these areas, focusing on the reach and significance of presidential debates, framing theory and examples of it in political practices, and TikTok’s audience metrics and political communication on the app.
Importance of the Presidential Debate
Presidential debates are some of the most watched political events in the United States. In 2016, the first presidential debate between Trump and Clinton was the most-watched debate in history with 84 million television viewers (Robertson et al., 2019). Neilson Holdings, a global leader in media audience measurement, reported that approximately 73.1 million viewers watched the 2020 Presidential Debate on their television. This number does not account for mobile streamers and radio listeners, meaning the total audience likely exceeded 73 million (Stelter, 2020). These statistics prove the extensive reach of the presidential debate and highlight the importance American citizens place on watching it.
Not only does the debate gather a large audience, but scholars have also found that debates influence citizen attitudes and public opinion through their tendency to prime, persuade, and inform voters (Boydstun et al., 2013). First, political rhetoric used during the debate can prime issues, concerns, or matters for a viewer. The more a viewer is exposed to a topic, the more likely they may care about the matter. Secondly, the debate can persuade voters to think differently about a topic, potentially changing their agreement with a candidate’s viewpoint. Finally, debates inform citizens about current events, candidates’ stances, candidates’ personalities, and candidates’ previous positions (Boydstun, et al., 2013). All of these factors can alter a citizen’s voting intentions as a result of the presidential debate.
Benoit et al. (2001) argue that presidential debates have become the single most important influence on vote decisions. They provide voters a unique opportunity to compare candidates as they address the same issues at the same time. Unlike campaign ads and news segments, debates force candidates to respond to spontaneous questions and unexcepted responses from opponents, regardless of how much preparation they have undergone. For these reasons, debates offer viewers the most real and extensive view of candidates (Benoit et al., 2001).
Framing Theory and Its Use in Politics
Framing is defined as, “selecting and highlighting some facets of events or issues and making connections among them so as to promote a particular interpretation, evaluation and/or solution” (Rosenberry & Vicker, 2022, p. 90). It is when a certain issue is suggested through purposeful selection, emphasis, exclusion, and elaboration of information. Framing theory is a way to analyze the content of campaigns considering audience interpretation. In elections, candidates use framing to draw attention to an advantaged topic or a topic of greatest public concern (Boydstun et al., 2013). It allows candidates to have a subtle form of control in setting the agenda. Scholars have also found that when there are two or more opposing parties, like in an election, framing techniques are more likely to be polarizing (Robertson et al., 2019). Previous research has highlighted multiple appeal types or framing techniques candidates use in political debates. Candidates can, “emphasize certainty, optimism, activity, realism, and focusing on acclaims, attacks, and defenses with regard to policy and character” (Parmelee, 2024).
Branching off framing theory, Parmelee’s analysis of Moral Foundation Theory outlines how candidates frame their language using the five moral foundations to reach those who are not their core supporters. The five moral foundations are care/harm, fairness/cheating, loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion, and sanctity/degradation. Parmelee (2024) found that Republican candidates are more likely to engage in moral reframing than Democratic candidates, and the moral frame used the most by candidates on all issues is care/harm, followed by fairness/cheating. These findings are important to consider since the presidential debate has the most influence on undecided voters’ decisions.
TikTok’s Influence and Politics on TikTok
TikTok, launched in 2017, is a short-form video-sharing platform. Its popularity exponentially grew as an exciting new platform for users during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A study by Schellewald (2023) found that as the pandemic continued, users found TikTok less exciting. Over time, people integrated it into their normal media app routine, and it has now become a common and popular social media platform. The platform now has more than 1 billion active users worldwide (Schellewald, 2023), with a majority of its users being 18-29 years old (Zulli et al., 2024).
On TikTok, users commonly make posts aligning with trends. These trends often have a humorous undertone, which news organization accounts often capitalize on by using humor and a lighthearted ethos in their content strategy (Zulli et al., 2024). There has been a rise in political humor on TikTok as politicians have started assuming TikTok jargon to showcase their political activities (Cervi et al., 2021). Scholars found that politicians who only focused on political activities on TikTok had trouble forming relationships with users compared to those who used TikTok for political entertainment (Cervi et al., 2021). Because of this, Cervi et al. (2021) concluded that political entertainment will continue to grow on TikTok and become the most effective way for politicians to connect with users.
As politicians increase their presence on the app, users are more commonly turning to the platform for news and political information. Data collected by Pew Research states that 52% of TikTok users report they regularly get their news from the app. It also found that 39% of American adults under 30 turn to the app for news. Among all U.S. adults, the number of adults who said they regularly get their news from TikTok has grown from 3% in 2020 to 14% in 2023 (Leppert, 2024).
Many scholars have explored how these users interact with news content on social media. “Social media, due to their affordances, invoke participatory, deliberative spaces where civic engagement can be fostered outside of a debate, bringing people together in a type of ‘digital agora’” (Robertson et al., 2019). McLaughlin et al. (2024) examined how users interact with political messaging on TikTok and found that attitudes towards politics on TikTok are more aggressive. Their study found that users on TikTok are more likely to engage with those who have opposing political views and they are more likely to hold feelings of hatred for political opponents on the platform. Scholars found that TikTok politics are dramatized and represented as a battleground between good and evil (Cervi et al., 2021). These studies highlight the political environment on TikTok, how politicians use the app, and how users interact/respond to politics on the platform. This data is important to consider when evaluating the techniques campaign teams use to promote their candidate.
In conclusion, the debate is one of the most important and widely viewed political events in an election. In the past, research has been done to evaluate how the presidential debate influences the public perception of candidates and how it has to potential to sway the opinions of undecided voters. Previous research has also explored how candidates work to frame their messaging; however, no research has explored the strategies campaign teams use on the highly popular social media platform, TikTok, to react and respond to the debate. This research will explore this gap by analyzing how presidential campaign teams use TikTok to portray and frame their candidate’s performance in the presidential debate.
Research Questions
This research will answer the following questions:
RQ 1: What messaging strategy did Donald Trump’s campaign team use on TikTok to communicate about his debate performance and effectiveness?
RQ 2: What messaging strategy did Kamala Harris’s campaign team use on TikTok to communicate about her debate performance and effectiveness?
RQ 3: How were the two campaigns’ message strategies similar? How did they differ?
RQ 4: How did the reach and interactions of these TikToks vary?
Over recent years, social media has revolutionized political campaigns, allowing candidates to reach and engage with voters directly and cost-effectively. Candidates dedicate more and more of their resources to these platforms as they continue to grow. TikTok, originally created for entertainment purposes, has evolved to include news and political communications. The platform currently used the most for political communication is X, formerly known as Twitter. A study conducted by Pew Research found that TikTok is quickly emerging behind X, as 65% of TikTok users say they feel politics belong on the app, right behind X’s 67%. Additionally, 73% of users believed that TikTok is a place that can make a political difference, well above X’s 58% (McClain, 2024). TikTok is predicted to continue growing as a platform and as a means of political communication.
This research is crucial because it evaluates a prevalent political practice during one of the most influential events of the presidential election cycle, on one of the fastest-growing social media apps (Iqbal, 2024). More than two-thirds of TikTok’s audience is in the 18-to-34 age range (Ceci, 2024); since citizens in that age range are potential new and eligible voters, understanding how this platform can be leveraged for campaigning is vital.
As of September 4, 2024, six days before the presidential debate, 18% of American voters had not decided whether they were going to vote for Trump or Harris (Leonhardt, 2024). 29% of people surveyed said presidential debates were more helpful to them in deciding their vote compared to news coverage, political talk shows, campaign rallies, advertising spots, and broadcast interviews with the candidates (Holz et al., 2016). Since the presidential debate has this significant influence on voters, especially undecided voters, and 52% of TikTok users report getting news from the app (Greenwood, 2016), the way campaign teams use TikTok and framing strategies to report on the debate could affect the results of the election.
III. Methods
This research used qualitative content analysis, “the most widely used method in the academic field of political communication” (Neuendorf & Kumar, 2015), to identify themes among TikTok campaign strategies. Content analysis allows campaign teams to uncover trends and patterns in political communication, including identifying which issues are most important to voters and how these issues are being framed by opponents (Blassnig, 2023).
This study’s methodology was adapted from Zulli et al. (2024), who gathered the URLs of TikToks and then conducted a four-part analysis of the content. In the current study, a stratified sample of 12 videos were drawn from the verified TikTok campaign accounts for Vice President Kamala Harris, @kamalahq, and Former President Donald Trump, @teamtrump. Six were randomly selected from each account out of the 29 posted by @kamalahq and the 12 posted by @teamtrump. Only the videos posted within 48 hours after the debate were sampled, as they were likely to reveal the strategies the campaign teams used to set the agenda and influence the news cycle for the three days following the debate. Limiting the sample criteria to posts made 48 hours after the debate allowed for analysis of the initial reaction/response of the campaign teams.
The @kamalahq account posted a total of 29 videos on TikTok after the debate, ten of these were on the night of the debate, September 10. 17 were posted the day after the debate, and two were posted on September 12, two days after the debate aired. The @teamtrump account posted 12 videos containing content about the debate after it aired. Two of these videos were posted on the night of the debate, seven were posted the day after the debate, one was posted two days after the debate, and two were posted three days after the debate.
This study used a stratified sampling method by dividing all videos posted within 48 hours after the debate into two strata. One stratum was composed of campaign-produced clips, meaning the team added production value to the video in one form or another. The other strata consisted of clips taken directly from the debate without any additional production elements. A random sample of three videos from each stratum for each TikTok account was taken. In total, 12 videos were analyzed, six from @teamtrump and six from @kamalahq. Like in Zulli et al. (2024), this research used inductive coding by first analyzing the content of each TikTok and then identifying themes that emerged from the examination. The TikToks were watched multiple times and then separated into initial categories. The videos were then reviewed in their respective categories and those categories were re-examined. Next, themes were extracted from the categories. The content of the posts was then reviewed, and the themes were adjusted or confirmed. Similar to Blassnig (2023), these themes were, “informed by the human coder’s interpretation of content” and were, “oriented towards the specific research questions” (Blassnig, 2023). Lastly, the themes were finalized.
Throughout the content analysis, several variables were identified: the primary message and framing of the content, examining the frame each account used to convey their message about the debate (Boydstun et al., 2013); the tone of the messaging, including the general tone of the content and the tone used when referencing the opponent (Boydstun et al., 2013); and the intended targeted audiences of the posts. For example, when analyzing the primary messaging, the researcher identified the main focus of the content as its core message. Regarding the tone of the messaging, the researcher looked for indications of informational, dramatic, formal, or persuasive content, as well as indications of humor or sarcasm. In assessing the intended target audience of the videos, the researcher considered the actual substance of the content, the language and visuals used, and the demographics of those featured in the content. The analysis also examined the number of viewers, likes, and comments on each video to extract insights into the effectiveness of the campaign team’s strategies. The themes developed from this analysis are essential to uncovering trends and patterns (Jones, 2024) in political communication and to determining which campaign messages are the most effective.
IV. Results
The findings below are arranged sequentially by research question, each subsection corresponding to a research question. Under each subsection the TikToks’ messaging strategy is evaluated firstly by their primary messaging and framing technique, then by their tone, and lastly by the intended target audience of the posts.
@teamtrump’s Messaging Strategy
Regarding the first research question, most of @teamtrup’s posts framed their content around Harris’s failures as Vice President in office, had an informal tone, and targeted a general and non-specific audience.
The primary messaging of @teamtrump’s posts revolved around Kamala Harris’s shortcomings as vice president. A majority of the videos negatively portrayed the opponent and focused on what she had failed to do. For example, @teamtrump posted a non-produced clip of Trump saying, “She’s been there for 3 and a half years, they’ve had 3 and a half years to fix the border, they’ve had 3 and a half years to create jobs and all the things we talked about. Why hasn’t she done it.” Another TikTok features a clip of the moderator in the debate asking Harris, “When it comes to the economy do you believe Americans are better off than they were 4 years ago?” Jeopardy-timer music starts playing in the clip’s background as Harris stumbles to answer the question. While she answered the question, statistics about the economy during her term as Vice President appeared one by one under the heading “Since Kamala Took Office.” Some of these statistics included, “Gas +46.1%, Groceries +21.5%, rent +22.5%, Overall inflation +22.3%, Average weekly earnings -3.4%, electricity + 30.7.” The screen then went black and said, “She didn’t say yes… Americans were better off under President Trump.” @teamtrump’s content focused on pinpointing Harris’s weaknesses to frame her as an unproductive Vice President and as an inferior presidential candidate.
The secondary messaging strategy @teamtrump used when posting about the debate was messaging that portrayed Donald Trump in a positive light as the victorious candidate. One of the TikToks framed the debate as a three versus one battle, implying the moderators were on Harris’s side. It then showed a picture of Trump looking empowered with text saying, “He still kicked Ass.” Another TikTok presented Harris saying, “I’m going to invite you to attend one of Donald Trump’s rallies.” It then featured a montage of clips from Donald Trump’s rallies with hype music and cheering as the audio. Posts like these framed Trump in a positive light, and suggested to viewers that he is resilient when faced with adversity and that supporting him is a fun and engaging experience.
Tone
Most of former President Donald Trump’s TikToks exhibited an informal tone and subtle humor, usually targeting/attacking Vice President Kamala Harris. In one TikTok, Trump says, “She copied Biden’s plan and it’s like four sentences, like run spot run, four sentences that are like oh we’ll try and lower taxes.” All three of the non-produced clips featured Trump talking in a casual tone and using common language. The clips also contained a hint of sarcasm and/or humorous aggression toward Harris like when Trump compared Harris’s plan to Run Spot Run, a book series used to help teach children how to read. Another TikTok showed Trump saying, “Wait a minute I’m talking now, if you don’t mind, please. Does that sound familiar?” In this clip, Trump ironically referenced Harris’s well-known line in her debate against Mike Pence in 2020 and used it against her.
Target Audience
The TikToks @teamtrump produced targeted everyday people, general voters, and Trump supporters. The messaging and tone appealed to a broad audience since the language used was easily understandable and the content of the TikToks was easy to follow. The content was not targeted at a certain demographic. The anti-Harris and pro-Trump messaging was non-policy specific, allowing it to appeal to a fairly general audience. For example, the montage clips from Trump’s rallies did not contain any of the content being said at the rally, it merely showcased snippets of Trump shaking civilians’ hands and waving to his supporters.
@kamalahq’s Messaging Strategy
Regarding the second research question in the study, @kamalahq’s messaging revolved around “warning” against having Trump back in office. To do this, Harris’s team used a dramatic tone and primarily targeted the younger voting population and women.
Harris’s campaign team used their TikTok platform as a way to convey Harris’s frustration with Trump’s policies and actions and concern for the future if Trump was to win. They framed the debate by posting clips of Harris blaming Trump for a multitude of things: “Let’s talk about what Trump left us. The worst unemployment since the Great Depression, the worst public health epidemic in a century, and the worst attack on democracy since the Civil War.” In another TikTok, the sound featured Harris saying, “We have worked too hard and fought too long to see our daughters grow up in a world with fewer rights than our mothers.” A third TikTok showcased a girl talking about the debate who then, referencing Trump said, “This man is a threat to our democracy, the American people deserve better than this.” Through messages like these, Harris’s team promoted the belief that Trump caused these negative things and will continue to “hurt” America and American democracy if he is elected.
Another messaging strategy used throughout @kamalahq’s TikToks was exposing Trump’s weak spots during the debate. One TikTok contained slides that highlighted the most politically controversial actions and statements Trump has been involved with, which were discussed during the debate. The audio for these slides was a well-known soundtrack of Kim Kardashian whining about being in an uncomfortable conversation. These slides said things like, “Trump when asked who won the 2020 election,” “Trump when asked if he did anything wrong on January 6th,” and “Trump when asked about his stance on reproductive rights.” Another video stitched together a compilation of Trump’s weak responses during the debate with a girl narrating in between each clip saying things like, “Early on Trump screamed in coherent lies about immigrants and got called out for it by the moderator […] then when asking about what his health care plan was Trump admitted to having no clue what he’s doing.” @kamalahq chose to showcase specific clips from the debate to frame Trump as an irrational and unfit leader for America.
Tone
The tone present in a majority of @kamalahq’s TikToks was dramatic and preach-like. Many of the non-produced clips displayed Harris talking very passionately and urgently during the debate. @kamalahq posted clips of the debate when Harris used very strong language like, “We cannot afford to have a President of the United States who attempts as he did in the past, to upend the will of the voters in a free and fair election,” and “[U]nderstand what has been happening under Donald Trump’s abortion bans. Couples who pray and dream of having a family are being denied IVF treatments. What is happening in our country?” The videos contain many heavy words, phrases, and topics, creating a dramatic tone.
Target Audience
Harris’s campaign team produced TikToks that appealed to women, younger voters, and Harris supporters. Many of the videos are clearly targeted at women as they feature clips of Harris talking about women’s reproductive rights and stories of the struggles women have to face. The campaign team also targeted younger voters as they used sounds from popular young adult shows like Kourtney and Kim Take New York. In addition, they created content following current Gen Z social media trends like using stitches, voiceovers, and carousel slides. Since a lot of the content posted villainized Trump, these TikToks did not attempt to convert Trump supporters, instead, they targeted undecided voters or existing Harris supporters.
Comparing and Contrasting
The third research question evaluates the similarities and differences between Trump’s and Harris’s message strategies on TikTok. Both @teamtrump and @kamalahq focused more on their opponent’s policies and character than their own. They used different strategies in an attempt to be personable to their viewers, and they both applied some level of Gen Z humor in their produced TikToks.
Table 1: Primary Messaging/Framing in @teamtrump’s and @kamalahq’s TikTok Posts
| @teamtrump | @kamalahq | |
| TikTok 1 | Making fun of Harris’s debate tactics | Blaming Trump for high unemployment, bad public health, and an attack on democracy |
| TikTok 2 | Exposing Harris for not having a plan | Stating concerns for conditions women have to endure under Trump’s policies |
| TikTok 3 | Calling out Harris for her lack of action in office | Attacking Trump for upending a fair election |
| TikTok 4* | Showcasing how fun and energetic Trump’s rallies are | Calling out Trump’s pain points from the debate |
| TikTok 5* | Attacking Harris for increased prices during her term | Showing Harris as a strong leader and winner of the debate |
| TikTok 6* | Portraying Trump as winning the debate despite the moderators being against him | Showcasing Trump’s poor responses in the debate |
Note. The TikToks with an asterisk (*) next to the number are those that contain added production components.
Primary Messaging and Framing
As seen in Table 1, the majority of the TikToks from the random sample focused their messaging on the opponent. Neither of the campaign teams posted anything about their own policies. They attacked either the opponent’s character, policy, beliefs, or past doings. The TikToks produced by both Harris’s and Trump’s campaign teams often attacked their opponent’s character and policies at the same time. For example, the TikTok 4 posted by @kamalahq, which used the Kim Kardashian sound, included slides with labels such as, “Trump when asked who won the 2020 election” and “Trump when asked if he supports Ukraine.” These captions simultaneously criticized Trump’s character, portraying him as an ungracious loser, and his policies.” Similarly, in @teamtrump’s TikTok 3, Trump said, “She just started by saying she’s going to do this she’s going to do that, she’s going to do all these wonderful things, Why hasn’t she done it?” This portion of the post criticized Harris’s character as being lazy/unproductive. This post goes on to touch on policy when Trump states many things she failed to do in office, like fix the border and create jobs.
Tone
As seen below in Table 2, both of the accounts featured very few positive TikToks. The ones that were positive contained a triumphant tone; @kamalahq’s TikTok 5 and @teamtrump’s TikTok 6 conveyed the message that their own candidates won the debate, and @teamtrump’s TikTok 4 portrayed Trump’s rallies as being a good time. All of the other TikToks examined conveyed a negative tone by using attacking, accusatory, or disappointed language, soundtracks, or effects. In an attempt to make their candidate personable to viewers, the campaign teams featured different tones on their accounts. Harris’s TikToks portrayed a dramatic storytelling tone to evoke viewers’ emotions, while Trump’s posts used a casual and relaxed tone to be relatable to viewers. For example, @kamalahq’s TikTok 2 included dramatic sentences like, “Couples who pray and dream of having a family are being denied IVF treatments. What is happening in our country?” And @teamtrump’s TikTok 2 included familiar and informal language such as, “She copied Biden’s plan and it’s like four sentences.”
Table 2: Primary Tone and Target Audience in @teamtrump and @kamalahq TikTok Posts
| Tone | Audience | |||
| @teamtrump | @kamalahq | @teamtrump | @kamalahq | |
| TikTok 1 | Informal and mocking | Accusatory and dramatic | General public and supporters | Supporters |
| TikTok 2 | Casual and accusatory | Critical and dramatic | General public and supporters | Women |
| TikTok 3 | Casual and accusatory | Accusatory and dramatic | General public and supporters | General public |
| TikTok 4* | Triumphant | Mocking | Supporters and undecided voters and Gen Z | Women and Gen Z |
| TikTok 5* | Critical | Triumphant | Middle and lower class | Women and supporters |
| TikTok 6* | Triumphant | Informational and critical | Supporters and Gen Z | Women and Gen Z |
Note. The TikToks with an asterisk (*) next to the number are those that contain added production components.
Target Audience
Table 2 above demonstrates that both campaign teams created informal clips aimed at younger audiences, leveraging trends and Gen Z humor. For instance, @kamalahq featured a young woman discussing the debate in TikTok 6 and used a popular Kim Kardashian sound clip in TikTok 4. Meanwhile, @teamtrump used large emojis and popular sound effects in TikTok 6. Both teams also posted hype videos and used the slide format on TikTok, which are popular content forms among Gen Z. As Table 2 depicts, the major difference between the two accounts’ targeting techniques was that @kamalahq often targeted women in the posts, while @teamtrump created more broadly targeted content.
TikTok Reach and Response
Kasumovic (2024) conducted a survey to determine the best key performance indicators (KPI) to evaluate a TikTok’s success. It found that, “The most important KPIs for TikTok success include video views (62.2%), likes and comments (27.7%), and shares and hashtag performance (5.5%)” (Kasumovic, 2024). As seen in Table 3, this study evaluated views, likes, and comments. Out of the stratified random sample, @kamalahq’s videos overall had more views and likes with 1,155,700 likes and 9,400,000 views. @teamtrump’s videos accumulated 672,600 likes and 8,000,000 views.
Table 3: Comments, Likes, and Shares on Each TikTok from @teamtrump and @kamalahq
| @teamtrump | @kamalahq | |||||
| Likes | Comments | Shares | Likes | Comments | Shares | |
| TikTok 1 | 181.8k | 3140 | 4877 | 61.6k | 546 | 906 |
| TikTok 2 | 43.1k | 1110 | 957 | 171.8k | 1074 | 2655 |
| TikTok 3 | 119.7k | 5223 | 4011 | 93.4k | 974 | 2455 |
| TikTok 4* | 119.3k | 2314 | 3286 | 309.5k | 1134 | 16.6k |
| TikTok 5* | 160.3k | 5834 | 13.4k | 385.2k | 1675 | 14.3k |
| TikTok 6* | 167.7k | 10.1k | 2563 | 134.2k | 1299 | 3172 |
Note. The TikToks with an asterisk (*) next to the number are those that contain added production components.
The produced clips, which all came out more than 24 hours after the debate, had more likes, shares, and comments than the non-produced clips. However, @teamtrump’s non-produced clips gained more views than the produced videos. In total, @teamtrump’s non-produced clips generated 4,470,000 views, 334,600 likes, and 9,473 comments, and their produced clips gained 3,670,000 million views, 447,300 likes, and 18,148 comments. Similarly, @kamalahq’s produced clips earned 6,200,000 million views 828,900 likes, and 4,108 comments, and their non-produced clips got 3,200,000 million views, 326,800 likes, and 2,594 comments.
V. Discussion
The results of this study showed how each candidate’s campaign used framing theory to shape the narratives about the presidential debate. The content analysis suggested that both presidential campaign teams used TikTok to reach a larger, and given the demographics of TikTok’s users, predominately younger audience. These findings show that while both parties used tactics to negatively frame their opponent, the videos posted by @kamalahq had a larger reach and generated more interaction among viewers.
Harris’s campaign team strategy differed from Trump’s in that she successfully framed her TikToks to target a specific demographic. Of @kamalahq’s most viewed videos, the top three were targeted at women. This aligns with what Grome (2024) states, that, due to TikTok’s effective and straightforward algorithm, specifically targeted videos are more likely to reach those targets. Since the For You Page is comprised of videos gathered based on the user’s clicks and likes, the user is more likely to receive content that they can relate to and/or is targeted at them.
The findings also showed that on both accounts, produced videos – despite being posted more than 24 hours after the debate – generated significantly more engagement from consumers than non-produced videos posted close to the event. In total, the produced clips generated 614,800 more likes than the non-produced clips. The 24-hour delay in timeliness of the produced posts did not negatively affect their popularity or reach. In contrast, it added creativity, relatability, and trendiness to the posts. The added production value enabled campaign teams to frame the videos promoting their candidate more creatively and successfully, especially when they incorporated TikTok trends and/or TikTok humor. The success of the produced clips aligns with what Cervi et al. (2021) and Zulli et al. (2024) found, that posting political entertainment is more effective than purely posting political content. It also corresponds with a survey of marketing strategists by (Kasumovic, 2024), which found that 52.4% made participating in popular trends a key strategy, with 20.4% made the creation of authentic original content a key strategy.
The result of this study confirmed previous findings by Robertson et al. (2019), that framing techniques are more polarizing when there are two or more parties. Ten out of the 12 TikToks used framing techniques to paint their opponent in a negative light using harsh, fatal, and dramatic language. Kupfergerg (2023) says that negative campaigning, as seen in TikToks such as these, has benefits and risks. Negative campaigning can be an effective way to highlight an opponent’s weaknesses, mobilize voters who wouldn’t otherwise be motivated to vote, and shape the narrative of an election. The risks that come with this type of campaigning are backlash from voters, damage to credibility, and a possible escalation of attacks between candidates. Kupfergerg (2023) found that negative campaigning is also more memorable and often gains more media attention, while positive campaigning can increase a candidate’s likability but often is less memorable and has less of an immediate impact.
Additionally, consistent with Parmelee (2024), this study found care/harm and loyalty/betrayal were the most common foundations for framing used by both accounts. This study found that both parties engaged in framing techniques aimed at earning the support of undecided voters, and neither party engaged in strategies aimed at an opposing party supporter. Instead, this study found the Democrat’s reframing strategies were directed at Gen Z and women, while the Republicans used general strategies to appeal to the common undecided voter.
There were a few limitations to this research, including the size of the sample of TikToks analyzed. A larger sample of these TikToks may lead to further insights and a more accurate analysis of each party’s campaign strategies on the platform after the debate. Additionally, when analyzing the reach of each post, only the number of views, likes and comments were examined. In the findings and discussion section, posts with more comments and likes were considered more effective however, this fails to consider the views, comments, and shares gained from negative viewer sentiment.
VI. Conclusion
This study looked at how Kamala Harris’s and Donald Trump’s campaign teams used messaging strategies on TikTok to frame the 2024 Presidential Debate within 48 hours after the debate. Both teams focused their messaging on their opponent’s weak spots, blaming, attacking, or accusing the opposing candidate. @kamalahq’s unproduced clips often featured Harris using a dramatic “preaching”/storytelling approach emphasizing how Trump is a threat to democracy and women’s rights. @teamtrump’s unproduced clips displayed Trump using an informal/relatable tone and common language, making jabs at Harris’s failure to get things done in the White House. Harris’s account often created posts targeting more specific demographics than Trump’s account, and these targeted videos proved to have a larger reach, gaining more views and likes than the generally targeted posts. Both accounts leaned on TikTok trends and Gen Z humor when creating their produced clips which gained more viewer interaction than the non-produced clips despite the 24-hour posting delay.
Generally, this research demonstrates how candidates’ strategic use of social media can be an effective tool in the communications arsenal of campaigns. Carefully framing a message for a specific audience and delivering it in the right tone can be a vital tool for campaign success, especially following a major event like a presidential debate. Additionally, leaning into political humor to reach the Gen Z audience proved to be particularly effective, as it increased engagement, indicating it resonated with the demographic. This study highlights the importance of adapting communication strategies to the unique characteristics of each social media platform and audience segment. By doing so, campaign teams can maximize their reach and impact, ultimately shaping public perception and influencing voter behavior.
One approach for further research is to conduct a larger content analysis that encompasses a broader random sample, including TikToks from the presidential debate up to the election night results. This would allow researchers to gain insight into how each candidate’s team adjusts its messaging strategy over time and in response to public reactions. Additionally, examining the correlation between TikTok viewers’ sentiments and their views on candidates could reveal which messaging, framing, tone, and targeting strategies are most effective. Research could also explore the relationship between TikTok viewership and voting intentions, helping campaign teams understand the most influential and effective tactics for promoting a candidate. As TikTok continues to grow, this knowledge could be crucial for leveraging a candidate in a presidential election.
Acknowledgements
This research would not have been possible without Dr. Daniel Haygood and his support and guidance throughout this process. Thanks for your continued encouragement and insightful feedback. I also want to thank all my previous professors at Elon University from whom I gained the foundational skills that enabled me to achieve this accomplishment.
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