Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination has been bolstered by an unexpected group of supporters: Charli XCX fans.
Excitement around the Harris campaign grew on social media after people began editing viral videos and memes fusing songs from British pop star Charli XCX’s album “Brat” with clips of Harris throughout her career.
After Charli XCX appeared to endorse Harris on Sunday, writing “Kamala IS Brat,” Harris’ campaign embraced the moment, reposting the show of support, using the album’s signature green color and typeface in one of its social media profiles and posting “Brat”-themed memes.
“Brat,” which touches on womanhood, insecurity, competition, motherhood, relationships, partying and other topics, debuted June 7. Since then, social media users have declared that they are celebrating a “brat summer,” meaning they are embracing being earnest and unapologetically themselves.
The pairing of Harris memes with “Brat” fandom has surged since Sunday, when President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the race, but the idea had been percolating for at least the last several weeks.
Abigail De Kosnik, an associate professor at the Berkeley Center for New Media at the University of California, Berkeley, said Harris is “plugged in” to popular culture in a way other Democratic candidates in the past haven’t been. That is a refreshing change for voters who often view Democrats as “staid,” De Kosnik said.
The “Brat”-Harris crossover trend was popularized by creators like University of Delaware senior Ryan Long, who went viral after he posted a mashup of the Charli XCX song “Von Dutch” with clips of Harris on July 3.
“I’ve never seen people so excited for a candidate,” said Long, who described himself as an enthusiastic Harris supporter for years. “People were pessimistic about Joe Biden, but there is so much enthusiasm right now over Kamala. I really hope that she can capitalize off of it and get a landslide win.”
Long said he believes the Harris memes signal that young voters embraced her as a candidate even before Biden endorsed her presidential campaign.
The “Brat” Harris edits have taken over TikTok, X and Instagram, sometimes paired with the hashtag “Brat election.” Sound bites of Harris laughing have been used in video edits, as well as her memorable quotes like “I love Venn diagrams” and “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”
Harris, who has spawned multiple memes during her tenure as vice president, has gotten the approval of Stan Twitter, a community of various devout fandoms on X (formerly Twitter) that often mobilizes to support certain artists. Long said Harris memes have been a part of Stan Twitter for years, resurging in popularity every few months and paving the way for a quick embrace of her presidential candidacy. A clip of Harris’ laugh has been edited into numerous pop songs by various fandoms and shared on X.
Representatives for Charli XCX declined to comment. A representative for Harris didn’t respond to a request for comment.
“‘Brat’ is one of the top albums in the world, and it’s been going super big online,” Long said. “Kamala does such a good job at embodying what people call ‘Brat summer.’ The way she presents herself, she’s happy, laughing, she’ll dance. She is like a walking content farm.”
Charli XCX previously described a brat as someone who likes to party, “says some dumb things sometimes” and is “honest, blunt and a little bit volatile.” Harris’ professional image doesn’t necessarily match the messy party girl ethos of “Brat,” but her distinct quotes and animated laughter have gotten unique attention. Some detractors have said her demeanor is bizarre, while supporters have framed the traits as endearing.
Aly McCormick, 21, was inspired by Long’s “Von Dutch” Harris edit when she decided to make a Harris video edit of her own set to the “Brat” song “360.” McCormick posted it on TikTok, where it has been viewed more than 1.6 million times.
“Kamala brings in such hope and light, because she’s having fun, and we haven’t really had that in politics for a while,” McCormick, a rising senior in political communications at George Washington University, told NBC News. “I feel very hopeful.”
De Kosnik said the alignment of the Harris campaign with “Brat” casts Harris as a worthy opponent to former President Donald Trump in November. She drew a comparison between Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who co-opted Trump’s insult “nasty woman” as a feminist retort when she ran for president in 2016. Trump has similarly tried to call Harris names, calling her “Laughing Kamala” at a recent rally.
“I think there’s some edge to Harris being the first Black and Asian American woman candidate for president of the United States that kind of just puts her automatically in that defiant kind of oppositional space in the culture,” De Kosnik said.
A typical “brat girl sees Kamala and sees something of herself in Kamala,” she added.
“‘Brat’ just sets Kamala Harris’ campaign up for that defiant stance that says, ‘We’re not perfect, and you’re going to call us out on everything, but we’re still winning because we’re honest and we’re just ourselves, and we’re going to take this whole thing,’” De Kosnik said.
“Brat” isn’t the only soundtrack for fan video edits of Harris. American pop musician Kesha has also remixed her laugh with the intro of the 2011 song “Blow,” which has been used as the audio for over 1,300 TikTok posts, including two from Kesha herself that have almost 3 million views each. Another popular track for Harris videos is the song “Femininomenon” by Chappell Roan, whose summer success alongside Charli XCX has defined an era of pop underdogs’ rising to the top. Harris has also previously been celebrated by celebrities like Beyoncé and Cardi B.
But Charli XCX is in a special position in today’s pop world, having toiled for over a decade before reaching an exuberant cultural peak with “Brat” this summer. Harris fans’ adopting “Brat” memes may cast Harris in the same light.
De Kosnik said many so-called brats can identify with Harris because they come from marginalized communities and understand what it feels like to be discounted.
“The brat girl is sort of like the unexpected leader, the unexpected winner,” De Kosnik said.
