- Social media has been in an uproar over Biden’s debate performance.
- Many were disillusioned with both candidates’ prospects, and their ages.
- Even before the debate, Biden was struggling to engage with Gen Z voters, many of whom get their news from TikTok.
There was one bright side to Biden’s terrible performance in the CNN debate: Relatively few people tuned in to watch it.
But for a critical audience, there was no need to watch it live.
Polls have shown that Biden has clear problems with critical Gen Z and millennial voters, whose support was declining even before the debate.
And with younger voters increasingly watching less TV, roughly a third of Americans ages 18 to 29 regularly get their news from TikTok.
But if Biden was hoping TikTok would respond better than Democrats panicking during the debate, he’s going to be disappointed.
A study by social intelligence company CredoIQ analyzed the top 450 TikToks related to the debate, which collectively garnered around 483 million views.
The report found that 39% of those videos expressed negative sentiment exclusively toward Biden.
By comparison, only 9.5% of those videos were negative about Trump alone, the study said. Negative reactions to Biden outnumbered TikTok users slamming both candidates. These videos accounted for about 35% of views.
Overall, TikTok users seem to be pretty pessimistic about the whole incident: only 5% of the top posts expressed positive sentiment, according to CredoIQ.
Biden’s “meme-able” face
While political commentators have focused primarily on Biden’s awkward responses, some on TikTok have been drawn to his “meme face.”
One video, a collection of short clips showing Biden with his mouth open and brow furrowed in a perplexed expression, has been viewed nearly 9 million times, while the creator can be heard bursting into laughter in the background.
Some drew comparisons between Biden now and the Biden of the past: A video comparing Biden’s performance in the 2012 vice presidential debate with his performance on Thursday has been viewed more than 8 million times, with many comments saying he seems like a different person.
“I need a prescription for Adderall but it’s not for me, it’s for f****** Joe Biden,” popular influencer James Charles said at the start of a video that has been viewed 18.7 million times.
Charles also slammed Trump during his two-minute rant, slamming his federal conviction and calling both candidates “corpses.”
But Charles also faced heavy criticism for a video in which he criticized Biden over the loss of abortion rights and Roe v. Wade.
And in fairness, some have defended Biden, with one creator speculating that his performance could be the result of past health issues or a “speech impediment.”
Nihilism Everywhere
Many users lamented the trajectory of American politics beyond Biden himself, while critics denounced Trump’s rampant lies and criminal allegations.
One TikTok video, which has nearly 18 million views, compares the 2012 Obama-Romney fight to the debacle that is the Trump-Biden fight.
Obama and Romney’s heartfelt exchange was set to patriotic music, while Trump and Biden’s voices were sped up and higher in pitch.
One commenter pointed out the candidates’ ages, writing, “It’s sad that even today Obama and Romney are younger than Biden and Trump.”
“I’ll give them both a PDF,” one of X’s creators quipped in a post that has been viewed 4.6 million times. “The first person to spin will become president.”
Despite the dire response, there were some moments that stood out and even exuded levity.
One Instagram post summarized the biggest quotes of the night, including Biden mocking Trump for having “the morals of a wild cat,” Trump calling Biden a “very bad Palestinian” and a debate over which candidate can hit a golf ball farther.
“Fellow Americans, we’re totally drunk,” one commenter concluded.
