September 2024 U.S. Presidential Debate

Overview

The September 2024 U.S. Presidential Debate, also known as the 2024 Donald Trump vs. Kamala Harris ABC Debate, refers to the first debate between the official 2024 Republican and Democratic U.S. Presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, which aired on ABC on September 10th, 2024. The event was Trump's second debate in 2024, months after he debated President Joe Biden in June. Trump's discussion of the disproven Haitian Immigrants Eating Pets Rumor and Harris's facial expressions and reactions to Trump's talking points became notable topics of online discourse and memes following the event. The phrase "Transgender Operations on Illegal Aliens," as uttered by Trump, also became a notable catchphrase and talking point, as did the phrase, "I Have a Concept of a Plan."

Background

On September 10th, 2024, ABC News held the second official presidential debate ahead of the upcoming election, this time featuring Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris. The debate was livestreamed on ABC's YouTube^[1] channel, where it gathered over 10 million views in five hours.

Developments

Transgender Operations on Illegal Aliens

At one point in the debate, Donald Trump accused Kamala Harris of trying to perform what he called "transgender operations on illegal aliens" in prisons. The segment of the debate was reposted by PBS to its YouTube^[2] channel on September 11th, 2024, accumulating over 43,000 views in 13 hours.

In the following hours and days, the "transgender operations on illegal aliens" comment generated significant discussions and memes across multiple social media platforms and sites (example seen below).

I Have A Concept Of A Plan

During another moment, Donald Trump responded to a question about his proposed plan to provide American citizens with affordable healthcare by saying that Obamacare was "okay but not great" and that he wanted to scrap it in favor of a better healthcare model. He continued:

"I have concepts of a plan— I'm not president right now— but if we come up with something— I would only change it if we come up with something that's better and less expensive and there are concepts and options— we have to do that— and you'll be hearing about it in the not-too-distant future."

The segment was reposted to YouTube by the Forbes Breaking News^[3] channel on September 10th, 2024, where it gathered over 8,000 views in five hours.

On September 10th, 2024, and into the following days, the "I Have Concepts Of A Plan" quote became the source of numerous memes (example shown below).

They're Eating The Dogs

Donald Trump made repeated references to the Haitian Immigrants Eating Pets Rumor during the September 10th, 2024, debate, at one point loudly saying, "They're eating the dogs, they're eating the cats," as Kamala Harris made a puzzled facial expression.

CNBC Television reposted the clip to its YouTube^[4] channel on September 11th, gathering over 17,000 views in a day.

Various internet users then made memes and responded to the "They're Eating the Dogs" statement as it spread, with X^[5] user @NoahGarfinkel joking about how Trump's statement seems to align perfectly with the Peanuts theme song, gathering over 100,000 likes in a day.

A key point missing in a lot of post debate analysis is that Trump’s claim about immigrants eating pets almost perfectly syncs up to the piano in the Peanuts theme song. pic.twitter.com/6icWLe1sPN

— Noah Garfinkel (@NoahGarfinkel) September 11, 2024

Kamala Harris's Confused Reaction

Several internet users posted memes and jokes about Kamala Harris's facial expression during the debate, noting that she often took on a quizzical expression when Trump spoke. During and after the event, various screenshots of Harris's puzzled look were used in reaction memes on social media by many.

On September 10th, 2024, X^[6] user @mvn_dn posted a clip of Harris smiling at Trump with her hand on her chin and her brows furrowed alongside the caption, "If I send you this it means you sound insane." The post gathered over 200,000 likes in a day.

If I send you this it means you sound insane. #Debate2024 pic.twitter.com/Tf4pGiPJcH

— marv (@mvn_dn) September 11, 2024

Also on September 10th, X^[7] user @OrangePaulp posted a Screw Loose Emoji meme, writing, "Kamala doing this face and pointing at trump Whenever they’re in split screen," and gathering over 100,000 likes in a day.

Search Interest

External References