Kamala Harris's "Keep Kamala and Carry Onala" Meme Resonates With Election Day Voters

As Vice President Kamala Harris prepares for what may come from Election Day, one of her recent memes is likely resonating with her now more than ever.

The Democratic presidential candidate sparked several memes based on the phrase "Keep Kamala and Carry Onala." Here's the meaning behind the hilarious wordplay.

The catchphrase "Keep Kamala and Carry Onala" came during Harris's Saturday Night Live appearance on Saturday, Nov. 2. The line came from her cold open skit with Maya Rudolph. In the skit, Rudolph, as Harris, reflects on her last campaign stop in Pennsylvania and says she wishes she had someone who could understand what it's like to be in her shoes and said she preferred if they were "a Black, South Asian woman running for president, preferably from the Bay Area."

Rudolph then turns and sees the real Harris in her reflection. As the camera cheers, the Harris reflection encourages Rudolph's character that, unlike her opponent, she can "open doors," referencing her opponent Donald Trump's inability to open a garbage truck and his comments referring to President Joe Biden as "garbage" in an October 2024 video.

Harris and Rudolph then exchanged several puns on the candidate's name, including how Americans are over the "Dramala," want to watch a "Rom-comala like Legally Blonde-ala," and ended the pep talk with her favorite Kamala pun.

"What do we always say?" Harris asks Rudolph, and they both respond, "Keep Kamala and Carry Onala."

The line was a callback to the British phrase and another popular meme, "Keep Calm and Carry On." Fans who watched the sketch at home soon reposted the saying on social media and said the phrase gave them some much-needed levity ahead of the election.

Harris's sister, Maya Harris, also referenced the line at a rally and jokingly encouraged people to listen to "our family's other Maya's" advice to "Keep Kamala and Carry Onala."