Kamala Harris facing Donald Trump will be the most inadvertently funny US election of all time

Unless you’re massively predisposed to racism and hatred of women, the notion of a second Donald Trump presidency is a terrifying prospect. This is a man, now a convicted felon, who has boasted of wanting to govern like a dictator.

However, he is also, unfortunately, one of the funniest men alive. Whether it’s his horrendous dance moves, his suggestions that bleach can cure Covid, or his inability to write a statement without congratulating himself in CAPITAL LETTERS, the former president is inadvertently funny a lot of the time. Whether it’s him or the reaction, there is always something.

Consider the recent assassination attempt, which I think everyone can agree was serious, that prompted relentless jokes because to be online is to be disconnected, it is to respond with laughter rather than any real feeling. There were memes about not getting your ear pierced at Claire’s Accessories, and folk asking if “people in the 1800s were being this funny when John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln”. It is silly, it’s slightly apathetic, but it is undeniably funny. Even the response from Trump’s supporters, wearing ear bandages in solidarity, was so deranged you can do nothing but laugh.

US Vice President Kamala Harris is never knowingly not laughing.

It’s not intentional, his views are still terrifying. But Trump is by some way the most meme friendly president in history. At least for now.

Enter Kamala Harris, a candidate who offers an immense upgrade to the Democratic nomination in terms of not just being able to speak coherently and know who she’s talking about, but being also, another very, very, very funny contender.

The Democratic candidate – unless something insane happens – has a rare ability to go viral, not least because of her delivery, but also the immense cackle that frequently interrupts her speech.

Nowhere is this clearer than an anecdote about her mother, where Harris says “she would say to us 'I don't know what's wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you’."

What does this mean? Why is it so funny? I don’t know, but it is, and was absolutely everywhere, in relation to everything, because the collective internet fell in love with it. And it’s just the tip of the iceberg.

There’s the “Joe, we did it” phone call, the dancing to Puerto Ricans singing before it is translated and she realises it’s a protest, or bursting into genuine full throated laughter while explaining her love of Venn diagrams. That’s to say nothing of Harris discussing the “passage of time”, with a delivery that can only be compared to the highest guy at a party.

Combine this with her new-found endorsement as “Brat” from music superstar Charli XCX, and Harris is far and away the most meme-able presidential candidate in history.

The build-up to the election in November will be scary, stressful and anxious for anyone who has even an ounce of interest in the lives of the most unfortunate. Trump represents all that is wrong with the world. Harris can offer hope, but her winning is far from certain. At least the ride will be entertaining.