Why Harris Is Embracing the 'Brat' Label

Support for Vice President Kamala Harris has been growing online for months, USA Today reports. One need only look at the memes. Video clips show Harris laughing and dancing, spouting her love of Venn diagrams, and explaining how best to cook a Thanksgiving turkey. While opponents might paint them as awkward, Gen Z apparently sees authenticity. More:

• Brat: "Kamala IS Brat," British pop star Charli XCX tweeted to millions of followers Sunday, referencing her new album "Brat," which "has become a pop cultural phenomenon among Gen-Zers and millennials," per the Independent. Charli XCX explains "Brat" refers to a party girl who is "honest, blunt and a little bit volatile."

• Embracing it: In short, young voters see Harris "as the 'cool girl' option," per the BBC. Her campaign is embracing the label. The "Kamala HQ" accounts now feature the lime green aesthetic of Charli XCX's "Brat" album, Reuters reports. There are also "scattered references to the album" on those accounts, per the BBC.
• Appealing to Gen Z: This highlights the age difference between Harris, 59, and former President Trump, 78, "now the oldest presidential nominee in US history," per Axios. And it could translate to votes. "Young voters vote significantly more based on just personality and, like, vibes," Chris Mowrey, a Democratic social media influencer, tells Reuters.
• Relatable: People have been "recasting odd or awkward public moments into memes or viral video clips that often burnish her as relatable and down to earth," Washington Post tech columnist Taylor Lorenz wrote earlier this month. "Kamala is a West Coast fun mom," a TikTok content creator was quoted as saying. "She looks like a bureaucrat that would still have fun after work and go to karaoke."

• Coconut: In another example, Gen Z has embraced the coconut as an unofficial symbol of Harris' campaign. It stems from a story Harris told in 2023 about the importance of family and community. She quoted her mother as telling her, "You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?" before letting out a wild laugh. At least 3,000 TikTok videos include audio from the speech, per Reuters.
• Authenticity: These moments "are silly, and strange, and sometimes even awkward. But they're nothing if not real," writes Washington Post columnist Molly Roberts, noting "the precise problem with Harris's campaign during the 2020 presidential primary was that she was not herself, and people could tell." Still, "there's risk in trying to force something whose appeal comes precisely from the reality that it is unforced," Roberts writes. "You might lose the magic."

(More Kamala Harris 2024 stories.)