Top 20 WTF Viral Moments from the US Election

Top 20 WTF Viral Moments from the US Election

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the headlines and stories covering the 2024 US Election that we promise we didn’t make up– but we kind of wish that we did.

#20: Bedtime for Biden
Either this was a freudian slip, or the leader of the free world’s cognitive processes have truly deteriorated beyond all rationalization– and we don’t know which is scarier! Biden had boldly claimed he would be “doing 9/11,” as if it were something that you do, like… the dishes, or… you know, not 9/11. This isn’t the first time Biden’s… faculties have made waves online. Various clips of him falling down stairs have circulated, because, to be fair, the President of the United States not just falling down one set of stairs, but falling down multiple stairs is… a tad alarming. It does beg the question, if Biden falls down a set of stairs and no one is there to film it, did he do 9/11? We’re joking, please don’t get mad at us, please.

#19: Hannibal Lecter
What began as an attempt at fear-mongering symbolism meant to liken immigrants to a fictional cannibal became… a meme! Ain’t that the way it goes! Trump has spoken on Hannibal Lecter– excuse me, specifically Anthony Hopkins’ portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs”– a lot. He claimed that Hopkins had proclaimed that he “love[d] Donald Trump,” but there is no record of him having said this. Perhaps this exchange took place behind closed doors, something like this: (bn) Wow, that was really powerful. Let’s give those two some privacy.

#18: Cat Ladies for Harris
The 2024 US Presidential Election has finally answered the question we’ve all had on our minds for the last two-hundred-plus years as a country: what do the cat people want– besides cats? They have spoken– they’ll be meowing out the vote for Kamala Harris. This outcry of support from the feline population is in direct response to a comment made by Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, who claimed that the Democratic Party was run by “childless cat ladies.” Hey, JD Vance… the child-having dog person store called, and they’re running out of you! They should really hire me as Kamala Harris’s speechwriter, that would’ve killed. Now, in all seriousness– please rise for the cational anthem.

#17: AI Endorsements
Various AI photos and deepfakes have been spread across both Truth Social and X in support of Trump’s campaign, using falsified celebrity likenesses to attempt to garner support. When pollsters conduct their exit surveys, their #1 question should be: did this video of Will Smith and Chris Rock sharing spaghetti with the former president mobilize you to vote? If the answer is yes, you are immediately entered into a raffle to win one free year of computer science classes at your local community college. This could save our nation. Totally unrelated, but have you guys seen this? It’s real and definitely not fake. (Trump impression VO) “WatchMojo, I love WatchMojo, this is one of the greatest YouTube channels in the world. They’ve got the best countdowns, frankly no one has ever made a better countdown, etc etc”


#16: Walz is a Knucklehead
Come on, America– who among us hasn’t harmlessly forgotten where they were during the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident? When Walz was questioned on the discrepancy of his claim to have been in Hong Kong at that time, he fired back with a bulletproof retort: he’s a knucklehead! That’s extremely reassuring, thank you Governor– no further questions! Let’s move on to our next issue: Crazy Taxi for Sega Dreamcast. Do either of our Vice Presidential candidates have playable character mods for this 1999 video game? Don’t even worry about it, America– Tim Walz does! When pollsters conduct their exit surveys, their second question should be: did the Tim Walz Crazy Taxi mod mobilize you to vote? If the answer is yes, you are immediately entered into a raffle to win one free year of computer science classes at your local community college... and a Sega Dreamcast.

#15: Donald Trump’s Infinite Playlist
If Trump ever decides to leave the business world and the political sphere, we think he’s just soft launched his new career pivot– the world’s hottest new DJ. At a Pennsylvania town hall mere weeks before the election, Trump proclaimed that he was done with questions, and threw on the most eclectic playlist of all time. We’re talking “Ave Maria” into “Y.M.C.A.” into “Memory” from “Cats” eclectic. This went on for approximately 40 minutes. Unfortunately for him, they don’t call Pennsylvania a swing state because of the citizens’ collective love of jazz. At least, I didn’t consider that possibility until just now. In other news, Herbie Hancock for President 2028!

#14: Dark Brandon
Though Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July of 2024, once upon a time he had been vying for re-election by the American people. And what’s more important to a presidential campaign than trendy merchandise of a politician in his 80s with lasers shooting from his eyes? You may be wondering, who is Dark Brandon? To which we would reply, wholeheartedly, we envy you and your freedom from the shackles of this deeply online pseudo-satirical nonsense. But nevertheless– “Dark Brandon” co-opts the conservative insult “Let’s Go Brandon,” while also attempting to put a leftist spin on the “Dark MAGA” internet subculture, by depicting Biden as a sort of otherworldly action hero. It was a fair enough attempt at relevance, but the “Dark Brandon” shop has officially gone dark. The next time you drive past a “Dark Brandon” yard flag at half-mast, please pay your respects.


#13: Literally Anybody Else
Are you disappointed, frustrated, perhaps down-right displeased with the current gamut of candidates across the political spectrum? Don’t lose hope, America– a third-party write-in candidate is here to save the day, as they are famously known to do! A disgruntled man from Texas has legally changed his name to “Literally Anybody Else,” and has his eyes on the presidency. To some, this may seem to be a desperate whack at fifteen minutes of fame and a couple hundred bucks in merchandise sales. But to Mr. Else, this is so much more than that… this is about democracy, and change, and… probably merchandise sales. And folks, is anything more inherently American than that? Good for him. Get your bag, Literally.

#12: Trump's Return to X
Say what you will about the man, but Donald Trump has one of the greatest back catalogs of insane tweets of all time. A moment to reflect on some of these historic posts. We all remember that fateful day– January 9th, 2021– when the former president was effectively banned from Twitter. Which, if you ask Trump, was the greatest threat to justice to take place that week. Fast forward to 2022, and Elon Musk– formerly-Twitter-currently-X’s new-owner-but-not-real-dad– reverses the ban, and welcomes Trump back to the platform. Since then, Trump has prioritized his own social media outlet, Truth Social. But in August 2024, Trump sat for an odd interview with Musk on X, and concurrently made some posts on the platform. This tanked Trump Media’s stock by almost half, as his supposed “return” to X spells trouble for the future of Truth Social. As the company’s key shareholder, this translated to billions of dollars in losses for Trump personally– an interesting business strategy, to say the least.

#11: Kamala is Brat
Lest we forget, Harris’ Democratic nomination coincided with a much larger historical event: Brat Summer. But arguably more significant than the DNC naming Kamala Harris their candidate for the presidency, Charli XCX announced that Kamala… was Brat. Not only did this cause Gen Z chaos online, Harris’ team leaned hard into the title by rebranding her X profile with a brat green banner. It’s obvious that Harris had a greater appeal to young voters– or really, voters in general– than Biden, but this moment sealed the deal. We guess the apple don’t fall far from the tree. Because, when you think about it, we’ve been looking at you so long, that we only see me. Also, we’re so Julia. Wait, what were we talking about again?

#10: Make America Florida
Listen– we know that Ron DeSantis will not be elected the President of the United States in 2024. He’s out of the race. We already know this. But for a brief moment in time, the Governor of Florida was pleading his case to the nation with a bewildering campaign slogan– “Make America Florida.” We here at WatchMojo are not here to make broad generalizations about the desires of the American people. That’s above our pay grade. But we will go out on a limb and say this: one Florida is more than enough. Maybe making America Florida would be a good plot for a Syfy original film. “In a world where America is Florida, one man fights off a tropical storm of alligators with a chainsaw, an iguana, and a heart of gold.” That could be something, write that down!

#9: Trump Smells, Pass It On?
What do you think of when you picture a President? Someone smart, someone resilient, someone with a clear vision for the future? Perhaps! But now, I’d like for you to imagine this: What if the President of the United States… was stinky? Now, open your eyes– I pictured your eyes being closed before when you were imagining the President. It’s January 2017. Donald J. Trump is inaugurated into the highest office. And guess what? He's stinky. I know, I didn’t take this news lightly either. Former representative Adam Kinzinger took to X to claim that the former president’s odor was so pungent, that he recommended wearing a mask in his presence. Trump fired back via spokesperson, claiming that Mr. Kinzinger “farted on live TV and is an unemployed fraud.” We here at WatchMojo cannot confirm or deny the stinky allegations. We’re just here to rank the facts.

#8: Biden’s Dead, Pass It On?
What do you think of when you picture a President? Someone smart, someone resilient, someone with a clear vision for the future? Perhaps! But now, I’d like for you to imagine this: What if the President of the United States… was dead? Now, open your eyes. You’re Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert. And guess what? Your President, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., is holding office as a dead man. Biden announced having caught COVID a few days before he dropped out of the presidential race, which kept him physically out of the public eye for about a week. But for Boebert, this wasn’t the full story– and she repeatedly demanded proof of life from the President over X. While we here at WatchMojo can confirm that Joe Biden is alive as of August 2024, we are currently imagining him in a Weekend at Bernie’s type situation. We have no comment on whether or not that is funny.

#7: The Gay Furry Hackers Disband
Well behaved furries rarely make history– and make history these furries did. Also known as SiegedSec, this group of hacktivists have had some high profile targets over the years. To name a few: The Nebraska Supreme Court, NATO, and most recently, The Heritage Foundation, which is the organization behind the controversial “Project 2025.” But alas, nothing fur can stay, and the group has announced their retirement from cybercrime to focus on their mental health, and to steer clear of the FBI. But who knows what the future holds for the self-proclaimed gay furry hackers– if the Ocean’s franchise taught us anything, it’s that a good crew can’t stay apart for very long. So next time you see a furry leaving a casino, you may want to alert the authorities.

#6: Musk's Trump Rally Appearance
It’s nearly impossible to log onto any social media site, on any given day, and not see at least one post about Elon Musk. The man loves attention. And as we know, throughout this election cycle he has been an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump. He even pledged one million dollars a day to voters in swing states who sign a pro-Trump petition, of which the legality of is questionable at the very least. Just quirky billionaire things, we suppose! But before that whole ordeal, an appearance by Musk at a Pennsylvania Trump rally became a massive meme, as he was captured enthusiastically leaping in the air. You know what they say, shoot for Mars, and if you miss, you’ll land in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trust me, people are saying this.

#5: The Debate of a Lifetime
Anyone who watched the 2024 Presidential Debate between Biden and Trump should receive a stimulus check from the United States government as a pain and suffering settlement. Please don’t make me relive this. Ok, fine– let’s relive it together. What is there to say that has yet to be said about this debate? It was bad. It was really, really bad. Let us know in the comments if you’d like for us to publish “top 10 things I would rather do than rewatch the Biden-Trump debate.” Here’s a preview– #10: Go to the optometrist and wait for 45 minutes but then realize my appointment is actually tomorrow. #9: Watch the 2015 Netflix sitcom “Real Rob.” #8: Shake a rock out of my shoe. #7– Nevermind, you get it.

#4: The JD Vance Of It All
What do you think of when you picture a Vice President? Someone smart, someone resilient, someone with a clear vision for the future? Perhaps! But now, I’d like for you to imagine this: What if the Vice President of the United States… wore eyeliner? Now, open your eyes. Is this joke old yet? I didn’t think so. As Trump’s running mate, JD Vance has been doing an excellent job so far… of being the center of many, many odd headlines. Most notably, a rumor had spread on X that Vance had sexual relations with a couch. While this is presumably untrue, it’s proven difficult for the senator to shake the gossip. Harris’ running mate Tim Walz has even poked fun at Vance, telling him to “get off the couch” and debate him. Ouch… I wonder how many writers it took to come up with that one.

#3: One Million Assassination Attempts
Obviously, there’s nothing funny about an attempted assassination on anyone’s life. But with that said, if there was a graph where the Y axis represented how many times someone tried to assassinate you, and the X axis represented how funny it was, there would be a direct positive correlation. The attempts begin to feel less like breaking news, and more like the latest season of “Only Murders in the Building.” But the building is Trump International Golf Club, and instead of Steve Martin and Martin Short galavanting around Manhattan, it’s Trump’s security guard playing Subway Surfers on his phone.

#2: The Many Adventures of RFK Jr.
Don’t worry, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., we didn’t forget about you– it’s not like we have a brain worm or anything. RFK Jr. is arguably one of the most, uh, interesting presidential candidates in recent history… and that’s saying a lot. But if he’s good at anything, it’s getting ahead of the news. Wondering why Mr. Kennedy may be a tad forgetful? A parasitic worm ate a portion of his brain and then died, of course! Remember when a deceased bear seemingly appeared out of thin air in Central Park in 2014? Oh, that was just little ol’ Robert F. doing one of his classic… bear jokes, naturally! We would like to thank you, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for keeping us on our toes this election season. We know so, so much more than we need to know about you. God Bless America.

Fake Out #1: The Legitimately Frightening Sociopolitical Implications of the Role That Both AI and Memes Have Played in This Presidential Election Cycle

In this essay, we will explore how our ever-evolving internet culture influences how the American people make their decisions on election day, through a thorough examination of each of the above examples.

…Just kidding, more silly Trump time!

#1: The Springfield Fiasco
It’s hard to imagine a wilder snowball effect than this meme. What started as an unfounded claim regarding Haitian immigrants in Ohio, was then spread online by JD Vance, and ultimately made it to prime time when Trump exclaimed the now viral quote: “They’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the pets that live there.” This blew up online almost instantly, and led to a remix, and– because, why not– an accompanying TikTok dance. …Folks, I’d say we’ve had a lot of fun together over the course of this video. Remember the ‘cational anthem’? And Crazy Taxi? Us too! So, instead of spending our final moments here unpacking why a TikTok dance to a quote about eating pets from a presidential candidate is, how you say, “WTF,” let’s remember the good times. Because the real viral moment is… friendship? Sure, let’s go with that.


Our exit poll question for you all is: Are these viral moments an important conduit for widespread political discourse, or are they a slippery slope to misinformation? Alternatively, which former US president would have loved TikTok dances? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!