Election season is a goldmine for comedians. Between Saturday Night Live and late night talk shows, elections provide endless material for comedians to capitalize on. It doesn’t matter which side of the political aisle the comedian falls on, everyone can find something to poke fun at when faced with endless political slogans, ads, and speeches.
Seth Meyers Capitalizing on Politics
Seth Meyers, a late night talk show host, is merely the latest to use the current political climate for material on his show. Seth Meyers is unapologetically a liberal, but even he seems to be having a difficult time with the Democratic establishment ahead of the 2024 election.
The Biden administration has been ramping up their targeting and advertisements to potential voters ahead of Biden’s 2024 campaign for months. The famous “Dark Brandon” marketing line seemed to work well, but since then the Democrats appear to have run out of ideas.
A Bad Campaign Slogan Can Cripple
This is problematic in a time where social media rules all, and a catchy slogan or media line could take a so-so campaign to spectacular. Republicans, for their many missteps, seem to have nailed the messaging a little better this election season, as can be seen in polls and casual conversation with individuals.
It’s still early, though, and the Biden campaign has plenty of time to turn public perception around. Their newest campaign slogan seems to be a valiant effort at affecting public perception, but as Seth Meyers stated on his show, it appears to have missed the mark.
A New Line of Merchandise
Following President Biden’s success in the write-in campaign in New Hampshire – where he took more than 60% of the vote despite the fact that he wasn’t on the ballot at all – the administration launched a new line of merchandise.
The slogan on the merchandise reads “Together, We Will Defeat Donald Trump, Again.” This is in reference to the fact that it appears that Donald Trump will, again, be the nominee for the Republican ticket in the 2024 election.
Mocking Donald Trump
It also appears to be a mocking play on Donald Trump’s own campaign slogan. In his announcement of his bid to run for President again, Trump proudly claimed that his campaign slogan for 2024 was “Make America Great Again, Again!”
This immediately warranted some mocking on the internet, of course, with many confused why the Trump campaign couldn’t come up with anything more original for a second campaign for the White House. Unfortunately, Biden appears to have fallen into the same trap as his opponent.
Meyer’s Poking Holes in the Campaign
Meyers pointed this, among other flaws, out to his audience during his late show on Wednesday. He read the statement, then dramatically put his head into his hands on his desk while his audience laughed.
He then went on to ask why Democrats are “so bad at this.” He went further to complain that the Biden marketing line is too long-winded and punctuated to be a real slogan, and that the Democrats would have been better off choosing a slogan that was punchier and shorter.
Does it Form an Acronym?
He even wondered if the line maybe spelt a cool acronym that could be used by the administration and those who support it, the way that “MAGA” took off after Trump initiated his first run for president.
Unfortunately, the Biden slogan doesn’t spell any sort of catchy or reasonable acronym, and Meyers seemed even more disgruntled at the fact. His audience seemed to agree, with some laughing and some booing in response to his monologue.
Meyers Went On
Meyers went on. The audience seemed to like that, and Meyers continued the joke.
While funny, Meyers is far from the only comedian who has been making fun of Biden in the run-up to the election. Back in October, SNL had a cold opening featuring a parody of Biden, where the portrayal of Biden claimed that, “A lot of his closest friends are ghosts!”
Merch Isn’t Moving the Way It Used To
As far as the merchandise line that Biden released, it doesn’t appear to have taken off. Sales reports from merch stores in the Washington D.C. area report that political merchandise is simply not moving the way that it used to, and pointed to political fatigue as the reason.
One owner explained that many of the people that came into the store seemed exhausted with the potential of another Biden and Trump matchup. When Trump first announced his run, it seemed that merchandising was going to help the Biden campaign make a dent against Trump, but now things seemed a little less certain.
Election Season Well Underway
With the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries firmly behind us, primary season and the electoral season is well underway. It’s a guarantee that there will be more political missteps in the months ahead, from both the Biden administration and the Republican establishment as they prepare to square up against each other again.
Messaging appears to be a consistent problem with the Democrats, so it’s likely there will be more comedic sketches and monologues about it in the future. All we can do is keep an eye out, and have our popcorn ready for when the new slogan drops.
