With a bias for finding small leadership acts with big impact, I couldn’t help but observe the viral use of the word, ‘weird’ over the last few weeks within the American Presidential Election campaigns.

Coined by Tim Walz, now the running mate of Kamala Harris, who used ‘weird’ to describe the behaviours of Donald Trump and JD Vance (his nominated Vice President) the word packed a punch in all the right ways.

‘Weird’ became central to viral TikTok memes, it appeared in media interviews, rally speeches and political commentary from both sides.

Google searches for the word skyrocketed.

Academics have written analyses.

But most powerfully it resonated with the public and ruffled Trump and Vance.

The takeaway from this… never underestimate the power of one word.

“Never underestimate the power of a single word, and never recklessly throw around words. One wrong word, or misinterpreted word, can change the meaning of an entire sentence – and even start a war. And one right word, or one kind word, can grant you the heavens and open doors.”

Suzy Kassem