Too Much or Not Enough? An Analysis of the 2024 Presidential candidates on TikTok.

In the age of digital politics, TikTok has emerged as a powerful tool for political candidates, particularly in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, where its algorithm-driven design allows for highly personalized and viral content. Initially known for its dance trends, TikTok has transformed into a platform where political discourse thrives, allowing candidates to engage directly with voters in a more informal, authentic manner. This study focuses on the official TikTok accounts of two major 2024 candidates, Kamala Harris, and Donald Trump, to examine the use of framing in political communication and its influence on audience engagement. Framing theory posits that the way political messages are presented can shape public interpretation, and this research explores how the framing of videos impacts user interaction on TikTok. Through a mixed-methods content analysis, this research will classify videos based on the frames used: positive (optimistic, solution-oriented, etc.) or negative (fear-inducing, anti-opponent, etc.). A total of 644 videos from Harris' official account (@KamalaHQ) and 47 videos from Trump's (@realdonaldtrump) will be analyzed, covering the period from July to November 2024. Engagement will be measured through various metrics, such as views, likes, shares, and comments, with a particular focus on the view-to-like ratio to gauge user interaction. A lower ratio indicates stronger engagement, suggesting that viewers find the content more compelling. This study also explores the impact of these frames on different demographics, with a particular emphasis on younger voters who dominate the TikTok user base. The research aims to answer key questions: What types of frames do the 2024 presidential candidates use most often on TikTok? Which frames generate the highest engagement? How does audience engagement vary by demographic group? Finally, the study seeks to understand the broader implications of TikTok's role in modern political campaigns and what it means for future political discourse. By offering insight into how TikTok's framing strategies influence voter behavior, this research contributes to an emerging body of literature on social media's role in political communication and electoral politics.