We did it, Joe!
{{Short description|Viral video of Kamala Harris}}
{{use mdy dates |date=August 2024}}
{{Kamala Harris series|expanded=Vice presidential campaigns}}
"We did it, Joe!" is a viral video in which Kamala Harris, moments after learning she and Joe Biden had won the 2020 United States presidential election, calls Biden to congratulate him on their victory.{{cite tweet|first=Kamala|last=Harris|user=KamalaHarris|number=1325126733482385409|date=November 7, 2020|title=We did it, @JoeBiden.|link=no|access-date=July 6, 2024}} The quote "We did it, Joe!" became a meme, and Harris's tweet publishing the video became one of the most-liked posts ever on Twitter (now X).{{Cite news |last=Montgomery |first=Blake |date=2024-07-05 |title=#KHive: Kamala Harris memes abound after Joe Biden's debate disaster |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/05/kamala-harris-memes-coconut-tree |access-date=2024-07-06 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=July 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706232637/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/05/kamala-harris-memes-coconut-tree |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Clemens |first=Danny |date=2020-12-07 |title=Remembering Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant: Tweets honoring icons lost are year's most-liked on Twitter |url=https://abc7news.com/most-liked-tweet-of-2020-retweeted-all-time-kobe-bryant/8587671/ |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=ABC7 San Francisco |language=en |archive-date=December 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211070217/https://abc7news.com/most-liked-tweet-of-2020-retweeted-all-time-kobe-bryant/8587671/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Pugh |first=Jamia |date=2022-07-22 |title=Kamala Harris jokingly recalls how the viral 'We did it Joe' meme came to be |url=https://digital.abcaudio.com/news/kamala-harris-jokingly-recalls-how-viral-we-did-it-joe-meme-came-be |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=ABC Audio |archive-date=July 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240708184058/https://digital.abcaudio.com/news/kamala-harris-jokingly-recalls-how-viral-we-did-it-joe-meme-came-be |url-status=live }}
Background
In the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were, respectively, the Democratic Party's candidates for President and Vice-President, running against then incumbent President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
The 2020 presidential election was severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which began notably affecting life in the United States in March 2020.{{Cite news |last1=Pilkington |first1=Ed |last2=McCarthy |first2=Tom |date=2020-03-28 |title=The missing six weeks: how Trump failed the biggest test of his life |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/28/trump-coronavirus-politics-us-health-disaster |access-date=2024-07-06 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=March 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328091425/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/28/trump-coronavirus-politics-us-health-disaster |url-status=live }} Biden's general election campaign limited its in-person events, and the candidate appeared frequently via live and pre-recorded videos from the basement of his Delaware home.{{Cite news |last=Lizza |first=Ryan |date=2020-03-27 |title=Inside Joe Biden's bizarre coronavirus bunker |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/27/joe-biden-coronavirus-bunker-151302 |access-date=2024-07-06 |work=Politico |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821055308/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/27/joe-biden-coronavirus-bunker-151302 |url-status=live }}
The pandemic also caused an unprecedented spike in mail-in voting, which did not require voters to appear in person at polling stations.{{Cite web |last=Cassidy |first=Christina A. |date=2021-08-16 |title=Report shows big spike in mail ballots during 2020 election |url=https://apnews.com/article/health-elections-coronavirus-pandemic-election-2020-campaign-2016-f6b627a5576014a55a7252e542e46508 |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=Associated Press |language=en |archive-date=July 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706235000/https://apnews.com/article/health-elections-coronavirus-pandemic-election-2020-campaign-2016-f6b627a5576014a55a7252e542e46508 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Atske |first=Sara |date=2020-11-20 |title=The voting experience in 2020 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/11/20/the-voting-experience-in-2020/ |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US |archive-date=June 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627020814/https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/11/20/the-voting-experience-in-2020/ |url-status=live }} While media organizations have been largely able to predict the results of U.S. presidential races on election night in recent decades, several battleground states remained too close to call on November 3, 2020.{{Cite web |last=Kang |first=Michael S. |date=2020-11-04 |title=The election results are delayed because so many people voted. That's a good thing. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/election-results-delayed-bright-side-voting-ncna1246368 |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=September 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240917221517/https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/election-results-delayed-bright-side-voting-ncna1246368 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Riccardi |first=Nicholas |date=2020-11-02 |title=AP Explains: The election result may be delayed. That's OK. |url=https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-Biden-Trump-delayed-result-d9208787554db4c4575579f6b75a7cde |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=Associated Press |language=en |archive-date=July 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706235001/https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-biden-trump-delayed-result-d9208787554db4c4575579f6b75a7cde |url-status=live }} In particular, a Pennsylvania law precluding the process for counting mail-in ballots until polls closed caused a marked delay in the state's tabulations.{{Cite web |last1=Timm |first1=Jane C. |last2=Edelman |first2=Adam |date=2024-02-27 |title=The 2020 election took days to call. Could it happen again this year? |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/election-wait-mail-ballots-swing-states-rcna140221 |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=July 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706235006/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/election-wait-mail-ballots-swing-states-rcna140221 |url-status=live }} On the morning of November 7, the Associated Press and other major media organizations determined that Biden's lead in Pennsylvania was sufficient to declare him the winner of the state and thus president-elect.{{Cite web |last=Previti |first=Emily |date=2021-01-06 |title=A contentious year: How Pennsylvania's tumultuous 2020 election unfolded |url=https://www.witf.org/2021/01/06/an-election-year-unlike-any-other-how-pennsylvanias-tumultuous-2020-election-unfolded/ |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=WITF |language=en |archive-date=July 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706235007/https://www.witf.org/2021/01/06/an-election-year-unlike-any-other-how-pennsylvanias-tumultuous-2020-election-unfolded/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last1=Becket |first1=Stefan |last2=Quinn |first2=Melissa |last3=Segers |first3=Grace |last4=McNamara |first4=Audrey |last5=Watson |first5=Kathryn |last6=Baldwin |first6=Sarah Lynch |last7=Freiman |first7=Jordan |date=2020-11-08 |title=Biden wins White House after taking Pennsylvania |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/2020-election-live-updates-2020-11-07/ |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=CBS News |language=en-US |archive-date=January 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109115736/https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/2020-election-live-updates-2020-11-07/ |url-status=live }}
Video
At 12:23 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 7, after news organizations began calling the election, Harris tweeted a 16-second video in which she stands in a grassy field wearing athletic clothes and sunglasses, holding a cell phone in her right hand and wired ear buds in her left.{{Cite news |date=2020-11-07 |title=Kamala Harris Congratulates Joe Biden: 'We Did it, Joe.' |url=https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/trump-biden-election-day-2020/card/8jkuSTtwUSsyfBdniXbO |access-date=2024-07-06 |work=The Wall Street Journal |archive-date=July 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718055546/https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/trump-biden-election-day-2020/card/8jkuSTtwUSsyfBdniXbO |url-status=live }} A black Chevrolet Suburban crosses the frame in the first few seconds of the video, and a person in a black suit is seen in the upper right portion of the frame. Harris tells the person on the phone, reportedly Biden, "We did it. We did it, Joe! You're going to be the next president of the United States."{{Cite news |date=2020-11-07 |title='We did it, Joe!': Kamala Harris calls president-elect Biden to celebrate election victory – video |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2020/nov/07/we-did-it-joe-kamala-harris-calls-president-elect-biden-to-celebrate-election-victory-video |access-date=2024-07-06 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=September 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240917221610/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2020/nov/07/we-did-it-joe-kamala-harris-calls-president-elect-biden-to-celebrate-election-victory-video |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Spocchia |first=Gino |date=2020-11-07 |title=Kamala Harris says 'we did it' as she becomes first female VP-elect |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election-2020/kamala-harris-vice-president-biden-trump-b1676334.html |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=July 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707001811/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election-2020/kamala-harris-vice-president-biden-trump-b1676334.html |url-status=live }}
Harris's husband Doug Emhoff said that he filmed the video after the two received the news of the election result while they were out jogging.{{Cite web |last=Lakritz |first=Talia |title=Doug Emhoff wants credit for recording Kamala Harris saying 'We did it, Joe' in the viral 2020 election video |date=10 August 2022 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-we-did-it-joe-recorded-by-doug-emhoff-2022-8 |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US |archive-date=July 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707001812/https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-we-did-it-joe-recorded-by-doug-emhoff-2022-8 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Gerson |first=Jennifer |date=2022-08-08 |title=Kamala Harris made history — so her husband did, too |url=https://19thnews.org/2022/08/doug-emhoff-second-gentleman-women-gender-equity/ |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=The 19th |language=en-us |archive-date=July 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707001817/https://19thnews.org/2022/08/doug-emhoff-second-gentleman-women-gender-equity/ |url-status=live }} Twenty minutes before Harris posted the video, Emhoff tweeted a picture of the couple hugging in a grassy area.{{cite tweet|first=Doug|last=Emhoff|user=DouglasEmhoff|number=1325121659519561730|date=November 7, 2020|title=So proud of you. ❤️❤️🇺🇸🇺🇸|link=no|access-date=July 6, 2024}} The event reportedly took place near the Biden campaign's headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.{{Cite news |last=Ting |first=Eric |date=2020-11-07 |title=Kamala Harris was out on a jog when Joe Biden was declared president-elect |url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Kamala-Harris-vice-president-video-jog-reaction-20-15709686.php |access-date=2024-07-06 |work=SFGate}}
Reception
{{Tweet
| name = Kamala Harris
| username = KamalaHarris
| date = 7 November 2020
| text = We did it, @JoeBiden.
| ID = 1325126733482385409
| image =
}}
By the afternoon of November 7, the video had been liked on Twitter more than 800,000 times.{{Cite web |last=Morin |first=Rebecca |date=7 November 2020 |title='We did it': Video shows Kamala Harris calling Joe Biden after presidential win |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/07/joe-biden-kamala-harris-share-phone-call-after-presidential-win-called/6203436002/ |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=USA Today |language=en-US |archive-date=July 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707001811/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/07/joe-biden-kamala-harris-share-phone-call-after-presidential-win-called/6203436002/ |url-status=live }} In the days after the video was posted, creators on TikTok spoofed it using the original audio or their own renditions, exaggerating Harris's lilting tone and the lack of enunciation in her third sentence.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Katie Louise |date=2020-11-12 |title=Kamala Harris saying "We did it Joe" has been turned into a TikTok meme |url=https://www.capitalfm.com/internet/kamala-harris-we-did-it-joe-tiktok-meme/ |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=Capital |language=en |archive-date=July 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707001818/https://www.capitalfm.com/internet/kamala-harris-we-did-it-joe-tiktok-meme/ |url-status=live }}
The phrase "We did it, Joe!" became adopted by White House personnel, including Harris and Emhoff, as a form of celebration. In February 2022, Kanye West released the song "Louie Bags", which samples the "We did it, Joe!" video in its introduction.{{Cite web |last=Nolan |first=Emma |date=2022-02-23 |title=Kanye West Samples Kamala Harris' 'We Did It Joe' on 'Donda 2' Track |url=https://www.newsweek.com/kanye-west-samples-kamala-harris-we-did-it-joe-donda-2-track-1681671 |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=Newsweek |language=en}} In June 2023, the actress Keke Palmer delivered an impression of the "We did it, Joe!" phrase onstage with Harris at an event in New Orleans.{{Cite web |last=Sanusi |first=Tayi |date=2022-07-20 |title=Keke Palmer Did Her Kamala Harris Impression—In Front of Kamala Harris |url=https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/keke-palmer-did-her-kamala-harris-impression-in-front-of-kamala-harris |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=NBC Insider |language=en-US |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709202208/https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/keke-palmer-did-her-kamala-harris-impression-in-front-of-kamala-harris |url-status=live }} Harris became known for releasing videos of consequential calls with political allies, posting a similar recording of a call with running mate Tim Walz in August 2024.{{Cite news |last=Ramirez |first=Isabell |date=2024-08-06 |title=Harris breaks the news to Walz using her signature phone call videos |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/06/harris-walz-signature-phone-call-00172988 |access-date=2024-08-08 |work=Politico |archive-date=August 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240808225735/https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/06/harris-walz-signature-phone-call-00172988 |url-status=live }}