Brat summer just got weird. How 2 words ignited Harris' candidacy
Childish insults are, well, childish. You wouldn’t think they would have a place in legitimate civil discourse.
Yet Donald Trump has trafficked in them for years — Lyin’ Ted Cruz, Little Marco Rubio, Crooked Joe Biden and whatever insults he’s trying to make stick, so far without much success, to Kamala Harris.
It’s not like insults don’t have a place in politics. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill elevated them to an art form. When Bessie Braddock, a member of Parliament, accused him of being drunk, Churchill reportedly replied, “My dear, you are ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober, and you will still be ugly.”
Not that it needs to be said, but Trump is no Churchill. Though not for lack of trying on the insult front.
How 'brat' and 'weird' came to define the political moment
All of which brings us to the two words that have not only captured the imagination of everyone this summer but have come to define the political moment: “brat” and “weird.”
Or, more accurately, brat vs. weird. Two low-grade insults that wouldn’t raise an eyebrow on a middle-school playground but somehow have become the words of summer.
Congratulations to us all. This is the world we’re living in.
The short version is you want to be brat, and if you wear a MAGA hat in your selfies, you don't want to be weird. Back in the day, weird was cool — why else did anyone listen to the Cure or think Michael Stipe of R.E.M. was so great? — but now them’s fightin’ words among Trump and his cohorts.
Which, let’s wait a second here. Trump and his cronies, emboldened by his behavior, spew noxious insults like a ’93 Civic belches exhaust. And weird is the word that gets their goat?
Charli XCX gave Kamala Harris the brat seal of approval
Anyway, “brat” arrives courtesy of Charli XCX — her latest album is titled “Brat.” It’s an aesthetic, “a pack of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra,” as she put it on a podcast.
She explained further on social media: “You’re just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things some times. Who feels like 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."
It took off — if you were cool like that, you were having a brat summer.
Meanwhile, in seemingly unrelated events, President Joe Biden had a terrible debate against Trump and subsequently dropped his bid for reelection. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
And then, as Harris was beginning to redefine herself as a presidential candidate, a gift from the pop-culture gods: Charli XCX tweeted, “Kamala IS brat.”
Who would know better? Harris embraced it as part of a remarkable social-media strategy that has energized her campaign. Weird, huh?
Oh, sorry. No offense intended. But some taken by Republicans, probably.
People have been calling each other weird forever. But Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made it a mantra. “He’s just a strange, weird dude,” Walz has said of Trump. Also, “These guys are just weird.” And, “We’re not afraid of weird people. We’re a little bit creeped out, but we’re not afraid.”
You get the idea.
Democrats have struggled to fight Trump’s insult fire with fire. Which is probably a good thing — it’s a pretty stupid tactic, if apparently effective. But “weird” seems to have struck a nerve.
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A lot of the 'weird' taunts are aimed at JD Vance
A lot of this has been directed at JD Vance, Trump’s pick as his running mate. (We will spare you the stranger, and often false, narratives that inspire this. You’re welcome.) But you have to admit, Trump does some pretty weird things sometimes. Like, I don’t know, saying if you vote for him in this election you’ll never have to vote again.
Wait, that’s not weird. That’s terrifying.
Whatever the case, “weird” seems to freak out some of the farther-right Republicans. My favorite offense-taken response is from failed presidential candidate and Trump toady Vivek Ramaswamy, who posted on X: “This whole ‘they’re weird’ argument from Democrats is dumb & juvenile. This is a presidential election, not a high school prom queen contest. … Win on policy if you can, but cut the crap please.”
Hilarious. Dude. Have you ever listened to Trump speak? “Dumb and juvenile” are two of the best descriptions of his oratory arsenal. (For that matter, has Ramaswamy ever listened to himself?)
There are more important things to worry about — like active threats to democracy, say, or free and fair elections. The peaceful transfer of power. That kind of thing.
But words have power. Even words like brat and weird. Perhaps especially those words. If you needed proof, this summer has provided it.
Biden drops out: How the media circus was — and wasn't — responsible
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How 'brat' and 'weird' won summer for Kamala Harris
