Kamala Harris is brat

On July 21st, 2024, Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, as his replacement. Since then, Harris has enjoyed hundreds of millions of dollars in donations and a slew of endorsements from the Democratic party establishment and some celebrities—including from British pop artist Charli XCX, who tweeted, “kamala IS brat.” 

What is “brat?” Who is “brat?” brat is xcx’s latest album, which was released to critical acclaim (including a rare 10/10 from Anthony Fantano, whom the New York Times dubbed “probably the most popular music critic left standing”), attaining third on the Billboard 200. Though brat’s sales aren’t too remarkable, its cultural impact is undeniable. Memes have circulated parodying the album’s cover; a brat-inspired dance spawned nearly one million TikToks; and videos highlighting snippets from the album have gone viral across social media. Its song “Apple” became TikTok’s 8th most popular sound over the last 120 days—demonstrating the brat’s sustainable virality. Finally, the prominence of the “brat aesthetic” has led some to label this summer a “brat summer.”

This is how xcx explained the brat aesthetic in a TikTok: 

“You’re just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes, who feels herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like, parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat.”

To be brat is to embody the cultural moment—it has become a term of acceptance among xcx’s target demographic, particularly women and the gay community. Being brat is like being “hot” or “iconic” or any other reference to being “in.” 

Following xcx’s tweet ordaining Kamala Harris as brat, the Harris campaign jumped on the endorsement, changing their X profile’s header to match the brat aesthetic. It now reads “kamala hq” in low-definition Arial typeface set on a lime-green background, mimicking the graphic design of brat’s album cover. Social media users began posting clips of Harris set to xcx’s music. One clip in which Harris says, “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” set to xcx’s song “360” went viral, leading people to brand themselves as “coconut-pilled.” This meme-ification of Harris took hold in a largely positive way, humanizing rather than ridiculing the Vice President, in part due to support from xcx’s fans. Though our media landscape is polarized and fragmented, memes remain a way to “transcend constituencies, shape narratives and forge connections,” as Eleanor Hawkins of Axios wrote. She highlights memes as a key prong of contemporary election strategy, noting the importance of social media mentions in reaching voters. Harris is winning in this domain—between July 15th and August 13th, the Vice President enjoyed 46 million mentions compared to Trump’s 34 million.

In a recent poll from the New York Times and Siena College, Harris saw a huge boost among young voters aged 18-29—increasing her previous numbers, beating Biden, and outpacing Trump. Harris holds a healthy lead among 18-29–year-olds (56% to Trump’s 41%). However, the gender breakdown of support reveals a stark contrast; her supporter breakdown is 41% male compared to 58% female. Across the general electorate, Trump is winning among men with 55% support compared to 38% support from women. This gender divide is corroborated by data showing that young women and young men are growing further apart politically. While young men generally skew conservative, young women have consistently grown more progressive since 2000. Brat summer is a decidedly female-dominated trend—which may have limited appeal for the straight men that Democrats struggle to appeal to. Demographics aside, Harris’s brat status may benefit her campaign by keeping her name visible and attached to positive summer vibes on social media. 

Edited by Theodore Yohalem Shouse and Warren Chen

Featured Image: The Kamala HQ X Header by Kamala HQ is licensed under CC0.