Political Analysts like CNN’s John King and MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki were the top anchors keeping their viewers entertained during the nerve wrecking week leading up to the announcement of the next president. But was it for their political knowledge or just eye candy?
King set the stage as a Sorcerer helping the audience make sense of the electoral college updates, while Kornacki kept his viewers on the edge with his corny animated performance. Not typical for TikTok users, but this was a historical week after all.
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Starting on Thursday, TikTok users were uploading videos of the two on-air personalities, complete with upbeat, catchy songs as the backdrop.
In one montage of photos of Kornacki is played to Be My Baby by The Ronettes.
In another, the camera zooms in on King in front of the electoral college map. “I guess I’m just a play date to you,” Melanie Martinez croons in the background.
A simple search on TikTok highlights just how popular these famcams have become.
The hashtag #johnking has 2.5 million views; #stevekornacki has 81,600 views; and #election2020.
Emma Kraft, a political science major at Mercer University had been watching King’s recap of the presidential race with her friends for hours. Kraft used screenshots and screen recorded footage of King, as well as the “green screen” feature on TikTok, to create her fancam. She set it to the tune of Nicki Minaj’s Pound the Alarm a popular choice.
Fancams for election analysts follow a larger trend of TikTok users engaging in politics.
Jessica Velle is writer from Los Angeles, CA. She focuses on shining a light on culturally diverse stories.
