Kamala Harris “Brat” Memes Spark Confusion Among Democrats

When pop star Charli XCX tweeted out “kamala IS brat,” she might not have imagined CNN correspondents and Democratic politicians weighing in.

“So is the idea that we are all kind of brat and that Kamala Harris is brat?” asked a confused Jake Tapper Monday evening.

While Harris’s K-Hive may have adopted their moniker from Beyoncé back in 2019, this year, it’s brat summer, named for Charli XCX’s viral new album. When BidenHQ rebranded to “KamalaHQ” following the vice president’s announcement she was taking over the Democratic ticket, a very smart member of her campaign staff added the recognizable brat-style logo to their social media.

As Grace Segers writes for The New Republic, Harris’s team seems to be embracing the memes as an attempt to appeal to younger voters.

But not all Democrats are hip to the trend: California Representative Mark Takano said he initially thought people were being negative about Kamala Harris by “calling her a brat.”

“I just saw it on Instagram.… I said, ‘What is this?’” Takano told CNN. “But it’s not that Kamala Harris is a brat, it’s she is brat, and then I started listening to music, and I said, ‘Oh wow.’”

After being informed by his team that it was a term of endearment, Takano joined in on the fun.

As did Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii.

Still confused? In a TikTok interview, Charli XCX defined “brat” as: “You are just that girl who is a little messy and maybe says dumb things sometimes, who feels herself but then also maybe has a breakdown but parties through it. It is honest, blunt, and a little bit volatile. That’s Brat.”

Perhaps brat can be a way for Harris to punch back at Republican lawmakers who want to attack her over her laugh or just for being plain “weird.”

“I will aspire to be brat,” said Tapper on Monday. Us too, Jake.