“Keep Kamala and Carry Onala” is a catchphrase from a Saturday Night Live episode featuring a surprise appearance from Kamala Harris. During the last episode of the show before the 2024 election, both Harris and Maya Rudolf used the phrase at the same time during a sketch that included many more Kamala-based puns.
The sketch was a huge hit with liberals and contributed to a surge in hype for the Harris campaign over the weekend, with her supporters getting libbed up ahead of Election Day, when “Keep Kamala and Carry Onala” would trend on Twitter.
Meme basics:
- Meme Creator: Saturday Night Live writers
- Meme Type: Catchphrase
- First Appearance: Nov. 2, 2024
- Origin Source: Saturday Night Live
- Used to Convey: Support for Kamala Harris
- Peak Popularity: Early Nov. 2024
What does ‘Keep Kamala and Carry Onala’ mean?
The statement is a variation of the British motivational poster from WWII that said “Keep Calm and Carry On.” This phrase was meant to encourage the public to continue living their lives and doing the work necessary to win the war even under brutal conditions and the constant threat of bombing.
“Keep Kamala and Carry Onala” is one of a number of puns around the Democratic candidate’s first name that Harris and Rudolf used in the SNL sketch. Her supporters have likely gravitated toward this one due to the election season feeling like a constant war these days, with Donald Trump representing existential global threats.
Meme origins
The U.K. Ministry of Information designed the original “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster in the summer of 1939. Eighty-five years later, Harris’ plane diverted to New York so that she could surprise SNL audiences by appearing in a sketch three days before the election.
The sketch on Nov. 2, 2024, starred Rudolf in her role imitating Harris. Looking to talk to someone who could understand her, she sat down at a false mirror which revealed the real Kamala Harris on the other side. The two of them joked about Trump and Harris’ laugh before exchanging inspirational wordplay.
“The American people want to stop the chaos and end the dramala with a cool new step-momala,” they said together. “Get back in our pajamalas and watch a rom-comala.”
‘Keep Kamala and Carry Onala’ spreads
On Twitter, Harris supporters were already working to amp up the energy for Election Day, and this sketch gave them the perfect clarion call. Those who caught the SNL episode on Saturday started spreading it before the show’s official account could post the clip.
It took less than an hour for fans to start making basic motivational posters featuring the phrase, followed by fan art and stickers.
Kamala Harris mirror meme
A related meme popped up from the same SNL sketch that takes a screenshot from the episode and uses it as a reaction image. It shows a shot from behind Rudolf as she looks into the false mirror at Harris, who is grinning ear-to-ear.
On Nov. 4, writer Louis Staples posted the image with the caption “me listening to my own voice notes immediately after sending them.”
‘Keep Kamala and Carry Onala’ meme examples
Related memes:
- 40 of the funniest Voting Day memes
- ‘Let’s do this together’ Kamala quote becomes her latest meme
- Meme History: Kamala Harris Coconut Tree Memes
- ‘Project coconut is a go’: Kamala Harris memes flood the internet after Biden drops out
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