President Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential election and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris shocked America. Even more shocking, is the approach Harris has taken to campaigning.
While former President Donald Trump prefers speaking at rallies, Harris has been using social media to promote her campaign as well, something that is relatively new to the world of politics. After announcing that she is running for president, Harris has rebranded, catering towards the younger generation, starting by changing her TikTok account name to KamalaHQ.
Soon after her running was announced, singer-songwriter, Charli XCX tweeted, “Kamala IS brat,” referencing Charli’s new album, Brat. The album features a lime green cover and has taken the internet by storm. Harris saw the opportunity and took it, soon sporting a profile picture in the style of the Brat album cover.
This brings us to the pivotal question, is Harris really brat?
First, one must understand what brat is. Charli XCX described what it means to be Brat in a video on social media. “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.”
Harris, like Brat, has taken the world by storm. Since Biden dropped out, she has raised over half a billion dollars and is currently ahead in the polls. Everything about her campaign has been undeniably Brat.
Harris’s ties to Brat aren’t the only thing that involves her in the social media world. This year at the Democratic National Convention, passes were given to social media influencers for the first time ever. Around 200 content creators were invited to come to the convention. Three of these content creators were even able to interview Harris, who has not been interviewed for mainstream media since Biden dropped out.
Social media is undeniably playing a bigger role in politics this election. Harris’s account, KamalaHQ has been participating in TikTok trends as a way of enticing specifically a younger audience to vote for her. Harris herself has not been seen filming a TikTok, all of them have likely been made by a social media manager.
It has been fascinating to watch as Harris includes social media trends and brain rot to embody the Brat experience in her campaign and to draw in a younger demographic.
