How 'weird' became the internet's favorite political insult

"Weird" became the political insult of the moment after Tim Walz used the term to describe Republicans like J.D. Vance and Donald Trump.

This week, the race for president got “weird.”

The relatively benign word suddenly seemed to be everywhere in the political discourse, from campaign videos and podcast appearances to X posts and cable news hits. People on the left hurled it at those on the right, seizing on it as a fresh rallying cry amid a broader burst of energy sparked by the ascension of Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. People on the right, in turn, sought to reverse the affront by leaning on some of the topics that have most resonated in their social media circles, most notably stigmatizing LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming people.

Harris’ official campaign account on X, “Kamala HQ,” has used the word “weird” to describe Trump and Vance in 14 posts since July 23, while the Democratic “Won’t PAC Down” super PAC released a political ad themed around calling conservatives weird on Monday that has over 12 million views on X and YouTube combined.

By Friday, the word had made its way to the upper echelons of the ongoing political dogfight, with White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates needling a Republican media account on X with “Don’t be weird,” in response to a video of President Joe Biden going to thank the pilot of the plane that brought home U.S. prisoners from Russia.

Even some on the right said the “weird” attack had landed.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/weird-jd-vance-trump-walz-history-kamala-harris-rcna164575

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