It happened in Guatemala. June 2021. Vice President Kamala Harris stood at a podium, her expression stern, delivering a message meant to deter illegal migration to the U.S. border. She said, "I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come. Do not come."
She didn't know it then, but she had just birthed an internet titan.
The internet is a weird, relentless place. Sometimes a serious diplomatic statement stays a serious diplomatic statement. Other times, it gets fed into the woodchipper of social media and comes out as a punchline that haunts a politician for years. That’s exactly what happened with the do not come meme. It wasn't just the words; it was the cadence. The repetition. The vacuum of context that allows TikTok and Twitter (X) to turn a policy warning into a dirty joke or a surrealist loop.
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The Moment the Do Not Come Meme Went Viral
Memes usually need a catalyst. For this one, it was a mix of political friction and the sheer awkwardness of the delivery. Harris was speaking alongside Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei. The "do not come" line was the soundbite heard 'round the world, but it didn't truly explode until it met Donald Trump.
During a later appearance on Hannity, Trump was shown the clip. His reaction—a mix of a smirk and a "Heh"—became the second half of the most popular version of the meme. Creators started splicing Harris’s stern warning with Trump’s "I'm coming" or "I'm gonna be coming," which he had said in entirely different contexts years prior.
The contrast was pure comedy gold for the internet.
You had the Vice President of the United States looking directly into the camera like a disappointed school principal, and then a quick cut to Trump sounding... well, suggestive. It’s juvenile. It’s low-brow. And it’s exactly why the do not come meme has such high engagement numbers. It bypassed the actual political debate about border security and moved straight into the realm of "Did they really just say that?"
Why Context Doesn't Matter to the Algorithm
If you look at the actual transcript of that 2021 press conference, Harris was discussing the "root causes" of migration. She talked about poverty, violence, and the lack of opportunity in Central America. It was a standard, if controversial, diplomatic stance. But the algorithm doesn't care about root causes.
The algorithm cares about 10-second loops.
When a clip is isolated, it loses its soul. "Do not come" stopped being a message to migrants and started being a reaction video. People used it to respond to annoying exes. They used it to joke about overstuffed parties. Gaming communities used it to warn people about entering specific lobbies or boss rooms. The utility of the phrase is what gave it legs.
Honestly, the way it spread is a case study in how political messaging fails in the digital age. You can have the best intentions or the most calculated policy, but if you say something that can be reinterpreted as a double entendre, the internet will find it. They always do.
The Trump Factor and the "I'm Coming" Remix
We have to talk about the "I'm Coming" part of this. Without it, the do not come meme might have just been a footnote in a news cycle.
Donald Trump has a very specific way of speaking. He uses simple, repetitive verbs. During his rallies, he often talks about his return to the White House or his travels across the country. Phrases like "I am coming" or "We are coming back" are staples of his rhetoric.
Internet creators, specifically on platforms like YouTube and Instagram, realized that by stitching these two figures together, they could create a "conversation" that never happened. It’s a form of digital collage. It’s satirical, but it also reflects the deep polarization of American culture. One person says "no," the other says "yes." It becomes a metaphor for the entire political landscape, wrapped in a dirty joke.
The Evolution into "Coming" Core
Eventually, the meme transcended the two politicians. It became a sound bite on TikTok that people would use for their own original content.
- A cat refusing to let another cat in the room? Use the Harris audio.
- A person walking into a "closed" sign at a store? Play the clip.
- A chef warning people not to try a spicy pepper? "Do not come."
It’s fascinating because, by 2024 and 2025, many people using the audio probably didn't even know it originated from a 2021 press conference in Guatemala. It just became part of the "internet language," a shorthand for "stay away." This is the peak of meme-dom: when the origin is forgotten but the usage is universal.
Digital Literacy and the Danger of the Meme
While we can laugh at the absurdity, there is a serious side to the do not come meme. Political scientists and digital experts, like those at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center, often point out how memes can flatten complex issues.
When a serious policy discussion about immigration is reduced to a three-word joke, the nuance is vaporized. For the average voter who only sees the meme on their "For You" page, the takeaway isn't about international relations or the Northern Triangle. It’s about a perceived lack of charisma or a funny juxtaposition.
It’s a "vibe" check rather than a policy check.
And look, the Biden-Harris administration definitely felt the sting. You could tell that in subsequent interviews, the phrasing was more guarded. They realized that in the 2020s, a politician's biggest enemy isn't a bad poll—it's a viral soundbite that makes them look meme-able in the wrong way.
The Longevity of the Joke
Why is this still popping up in 2026?
Mainly because it’s evergreen. Unlike memes based on a specific movie or a temporary trend (remember the "Corn Kid"?), "Do not come" is a basic human command. As long as people are telling other people to stay away, this audio will have a purpose. It’s functional.
Also, the ongoing rivalry between the political factions involved keeps it relevant. Every time there is a debate or a new election cycle, the old clips get dusted off. They get "remastered" with new filters or AI-enhanced audio. It’s a self-sustaining cycle of digital irony.
How to Spot the Meme in the Wild
If you’re scrolling through your feed today, you’ll see it in a few different forms.
- The Direct Rip: Just the 2-second clip of Harris, usually used to express "gatekeeping" something (like a cool new restaurant).
- The Trump Mashup: The classic back-and-forth, often with bass-boosted music or "phonk" beats in the background.
- The Deepfake/AI Version: Newer versions use AI voice cloning to make the politicians say things that are even more ridiculous, though these are often flagged by platforms now.
It’s basically everywhere. You’ve probably seen it three times this week without thinking about it.
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Lessons from the "Do Not Come" Phenomenon
If you’re a content creator or even just someone who wants to understand the world, there are a few takeaways here.
First, brevity is king. If Harris had said, "We strongly discourage the transit of individuals across the border due to safety concerns," there would be no meme. The simplicity of "Do not come" is what made it a weapon.
Second, timing is everything. It hit at a moment when the country was hyper-focused on the border and when short-form video was becoming the dominant way we consume news.
Third, you can't control your own image. Once you say it, the internet owns it. You can't sue a meme. You can't send a cease-and-desist to ten million TikTok users. You just have to lean into it or wait for the next person to say something sillier.
If you want to dive deeper into this, check out some of the archives on Know Your Meme or watch the original 2021 press conference to see just how much the internet changed the "vibe" of the original event. It’s a wild comparison.
To keep your own digital footprint clean, or to better understand how these things go viral, you should:
- Study the "Law of Unintended Consequences" in political speech.
- Monitor how audio clips are repurposed on TikTok Creative Center to see real-time trends.
- Pay attention to the "remix culture" where the humor comes from the edit, not the original content.
The internet never forgets, and it definitely never stops editing. Next time you see the do not come meme, remember it started as a serious moment of international diplomacy that just happened to have the perfect rhythm for a joke. That's the power of a few words in the digital age. They can travel much further—and mean something much different—than the person who spoke them ever intended.