Pop culture has befuddled politicians for decades, but this week some have tried to join in on the fun of deeming Vice President Kamala Harris ‘brat.’
This week they’ve fired off memes of bright green squares, and when the BidenHQ became the ‘KamalaHQ’ a quick-witted and likely younger member of her staff added the recognizable ‘brat’ logo to her page.
‘Kamala IS brat,’ pop artist Charli XCX, and the founder of ‘brat’ in her new album by the same name, insisted on social media. Her X post has been viewed over 50 million times.
The term is associated with being messy, carefree, and paying little heed to other people’s opinions.
‘It’s just, I don’t know, being yourself, having a good time, being a little silly,’ Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., said of the term.
Moskowitz is not ‘brat,’ he told DailyMail.com. ‘I’m not a girl.’
‘I guess a guy could have a brat summer, my wife would ask me questions if I was like, “Hey, honey, I’m having a brat summer.”‘
British singer Charli (left), 31, posted a tweet branding the Vice President (right) as ‘brat’ after Joe Biden endorsed her for the Democratic presidential nominee and dropped out of the race
And for meme-driven young Democrats, tying ‘brat’ to the VP seems to be a pushback to Republican criticisms of her – her boisterous chuckles, the way she sometimes talks in circles and inserts strange references.
‘Any meme that helps us get younger voters to vote I am all for,’ said Rep. Gerry Connolly, a 74-year-old Democrat from Virginia who didn’t seem entirely sure what the term meant.
‘She would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?’” Harris recollected in 2023 at a White House ceremony. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.'”
‘They’re actually making fun of her laughing,’ Moskowitz said of the Democrats’ new presidential nominee. ‘I mean, it’s like she’s being herself. What’s wrong with that?’
‘Their riticism of Hillary was “Oh, she’s too robotic.” They want to criticize [Clinton] because she was trying to not be herself because women are judged on so many different standards. And now Kamala is being herself and they’re like, no, no, no. Don’t do that. You know, fake it.’
Not all Republicans embraced the term.
‘I have no idea what that is. I would hope that someone who wants to be leader of the free world would want to be more substantive than that,’ Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told DailyMail.com when asked if Harris is brat.
Rep. Becca Balint, who has branded herself the ‘scrappy little dyke’ from Vermont, told DailyMail.com of Harris and ‘brat’: ‘What I think is so interesting that she is able to capture this feeling that has been pent up for years and it is a representation of this next generation saying, we can be our full selves we can be, you know, we don’t have to be perfect. We just have to be our full selves every day. And I think she embodies that.’
The popstar’s tweet quickly went viral, catching the attention of Kamala, 59, who then got involved – overhauling her campaign to include a reference to Charli’s new album
‘I can’t tell you how excited my young constituents are,’ Balint said. ‘I can’t express to you what we’re hearing on the phone and in text and they feel like this is someone who is is able to embody that what we call the way that we’re all trying to live our lives.’
Rep. Maxwell Frost a 27-year-old Democrat from Florida, said that ‘brat’ is not for everyone.
‘What I’m saying is you just gotta listen to music. You know? And if you don’t understand after you hear the album, it’s okay. It’s not for everybody.’
‘What it means is that a lot of young people who were sleepwalking their way to the ballot box are awakened, they’re on her side,’ Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., told DailyMail.com. ‘And it’s not just gonna be brat summer, it’s gonna be a brat election.’
Not every lawmaker is up to speed on the hottest new internet movement.
Pop culture has befuddled politicians for decades, but this week some have tried to join in on the fun of deeming Vice President Kamala Harris ‘brat’
‘I gotta go home over recess and talk to my kids and make sure I really understand it before I comment on it,’ said Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.
‘I am learning what that means,’ Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., told DailyMail.com of ‘brat.’
‘I’m thinking of purchasing neon green.’
‘I’m gonna have to ask my daughter,’ said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., who had mentioned that his kids had taught him what ‘sus’ means (suspicious).
Even Republican Rep. Mark Alford claimed to be brat.
In a video posted to X, he asked members of his staff what the term meant. ‘Brat summer is a serve, sir,’ said one. ‘If you’re a brat, your just it,’ said another.
The video then displayed a definition: ‘someone who is honest, prioritizes individuality and is fun. Synonyms: Mark Alford.’
‘I think it’s fine for people of all ages to either get it or be confused by it or to cringily and try to be a part of it. I think that’s great,’ said Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas. ‘I don’t think that all of our politics has to be so doom and gloom. I think that’s great for people.’
Since Charli XCX shared her post about Kamala, her fans have started posting edits that show a montage of clips of the Vice President as one of Charli XCX’s songs plays in the background
‘Am I doing the #brat thing right?’ Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., posted on X, along with a signature lime-green square with a reference to healthcare policy scrawled in the middle: ‘middlemen are driving up the cost of prescription drugs.’
‘Of course’ Harris is brat, said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., a member of the LGBTQ Caucus.
‘The thing about Kamala Harris is she’ll be able to tap into pop culture, and she will tap in into artists and music. And folks that are actually going to believe that they can make an impact in the world. I think that’s what’s really exciting about her.’
