Trump Dance Memes Return After Election Day 2024

Are athletes everywhere doing the Trump Dance?

Trump Dance memes reference a TikTok trend in which users mimic or highlight the president-elect’s moves to songs like “Y.M.C.A.” The trend kicked off in 2020 after Donald Trump first demonstrated his fist-pumping, hip-jerking, and body-swaying techniques to the world.

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Attention returned to the dance when the former president secured a second term after winning the 2024 presidential election.

Meme basics:

• Meme Creator: @julia_keith_ is
• Meme Type: TikTok dance
• First Appearance: Oct. 17, 2020
• Origin Source: TikTok / Donald Trump
• Used to Convey: Love or contempt for the Trump Dance
• Peak Popularity: Nov. 2024

What are Trump Dance memes?

Originally, after Trump first deployed his signature moves on camera in 2020, TikTok responded with imitation videos and tutorials that mocked the simple yet eye-catching dance as awkward and generally terrible. The political left in the U.S. and beyond compared one move in particular to a sexually explicit act.

No amount of mockery, however, could deter Trump supporters from declaring their leader to be a kinetic genius—and the man himself was never going to stop because of what those he considered his enemies thought of him.

Trump continued to dance this way through 2024 appearances and his election win caused a new surge in the meme dance videos. Additionally, right-wing TikTok users began to post clips of athletes dancing in celebration in a similar manner and declaring this to be a signal of widespread support for their president.

Origins and spread

Trump began dancing in his signature manner later in 2020 as his battle against President Joe Biden entered its final stages. On Oct. 12, Twitter user @BrianClowdus posted one of the first tweets with footage of him dancing to “Y.M.C.A.” at a campaign event, which went semi-viral. The reaction from the public was, in a word, intense.

On Oct. 17, TikTok user @julia_keith_ posted the video that is often credited as starting the actual Donald Trump Dance meme. She imitates Trump’s moves along with a duet of some Trump Dance footage to a different song, highlighting how odd and awkward they are.

Trump Dance memes post-2024 election return

As Trump continued to campaign even after his 2020 loss to Biden, he kept dancing and people kept joking about it, but the TikTok meme faded from relevance. Many assumed it would never return, but were in for a crushing surprise in November of 2024.

After he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, his following started posting clips of athletes doing a similar fist-pumping dance to celebrate. It’s unclear whether any of them are intending to imitate Trump, but his supporters remain undeterred.

Cultural context

Donald Trump Dance memes represent a strong political divide that was intensified by the former president’s emergence as a serious candidate for the highest office in 2016. Critics mock him while his followers adore and emulate him, perhaps because it often riles up their opponents.

There may also be something to be said about Trump’s strong support among the white voter block combined with persistent allegations that white people can’t dance. Is the Trump Dance a defiance of this stereotype, or even a form of gloating that he can get away with anything?

More Trump Dance memes

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