Multimodal simile in internet memes on X responding to the 2024 U.S. presidential election

Abstract

This article explores how multimodal similes are construed in internet memes on the X platform responding to the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Drawing on insights from cognitive linguistics, a multimodal simile is defined as a simile in which the source and target domains are cued in different modes. The study analyzes four representative memes that prompt figurative comparisons between verbally and visually cued domains. Captured in the X is like Y format, multimodal similes are categorized as either narrow-scope or broad-scope. Narrow-scope examples typically pair emotionally charged images with when- or if-clauses, prompting viewers to map specific emotional or physical states onto abstract experiences. These similes rely on EFFECT-FOR-CAUSE metonymy, mapping vivid, delimited attributes onto the target domain. In contrast, broad-scope similes tend to involve be like-clauses to trigger more complex, dynamic mappings. For instance, one meme mocks Kamala Harris’s electoral loss by comparing her campaign trajectory to the erratic movement of a faulty shopping cart. Another critiques Democratic priorities through a comparison of Democrats with a lone figure celebrating a minor legal victory amid urban devastation. These examples rely on frame metonymy and metaphor to construct satirical political critique. In all cases, humor emerges from the incongruity between incompatible conceptual structures, while the simile serves as both a cognitive mechanism and a communication strategy. The findings suggest that, despite being often overshadowed by metaphor in cognitive-linguistic research, a multimodal simile has substantial rhetorical power, exploiting the affordances of verbal and visual modes to forge figurative links across disparate conceptual domains.