Kamala Harris is not yet the Democratic Party's candidate for US president, but her status online is already clear: she is a meme, but not a bad one.
In the latest testament to her viral presence amongst Gen Z, British pop sensation Charli XCX name-checked her in a weekend tweet that called the vice president "brat".
And Ms Harris' campaign is leaning into it.
Soon after the artist tweeted "kamala IS brat" on Sunday night – giving Ms Harris the name of her latest album – the US vice president adopted the album's lime green aesthetic for her "Kamala HQ" account.
But what is brat?
Simply put, it is the name of British singer Charli XCX’s new album.
Less simply put, it is so much more.
According to the singer herself, to be “brat” is to be “just like, that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes, who feels herself, but then also maybe has a breakdown, but kind of parties through it”.
“It is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat,” she said.
Brat is not just a name; it is a lifestyle. Some may say it is inspired by noughties excess and rave culture, but others say it is just to live life with a messy, carefree vibe, the complete opposite to the clean girl trends on social media of late.
It is all about accepting your imperfections while embracing the chaos.
Nobody is perfect, but who would want to be anyway?
Charli XCX chose a sickeningly sweet neon lime backdrop for her album cover, representing both the night out, and the impending hangover. Which, when you look at the colour, makes perfect sense.
In an Instagram post on June 8th, Charli XCX described the album ethos as “me, my flaws, my f**k ups, my ego all rolled into one".
Brat summer essentials, according to the singer, are “a pack of cigs, a Bic lighter, a strappy white top with no bra".
Being brat is embracing being young, regardless of how messy it may be, not focusing on the negatives that come with young adulthood and instead welcoming them as part of you, because regardless of what is shown online... no life is perfect, so why worry about it? Be carefree instead. That is brat.
How is Kamala Harris brat?
But where does Kamala Harris fit in here? How is she brat? Is she even brat?
Charli XCX tweeted on Sunday to say that “kamala IS brat”.
She would not be brat in the typical sense, with a Bic lighter, but more brat in an honorary sense.
Kamala Harris is a woman of colour, vice president of the United States, likely to be picked as the Democratic Party presidential candidate in the election against Donald Trump, who has a track record of being, some may say... anti-brat.
After announcing her bid for president, Ms Harris reportedly raised a record-breaking $81 million donations in just one day. That can be seen as being brat, because that is a lot of money.
After Charli XCX tweeted about her, Ms Harris leaned into it, with her campaign’s official X, formerly Twitter page, changing its background to brat green, and using one of the singer’s songs from the album brat in one of her team’s TikTok videos.
Ms Harris is leaning into the youth vote, like many candidates before her. Voters like to imagine politicians’ private lives, their real personalities behind it all, and people imagine the current vice-president as being brat.
Against Charli XCX herself, who coined the term brat, Kamala Harris may not seem to be so, but when compared to former US president and Republican candidate, who is arguably extremely not-brat, she is the epitome of it.
Even more so for using her association with the phrase to her advantage.
-Additional reporting PA
