Kamala Harris’ Campaign Embraces ‘Brat Summer’ After Viral Charli XCX Post

After President Joe Biden announced he will end his 2024 presidential campaign and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, her support from British pop star Charli XCX has become the center of memes embracing Harris’ campaign.

Charli XCX, who has 3.6 million followers on X, voiced her support for the current vice president by saying that Kamala is a “brat” — a nod to her successful sixth studio album which sparked the “brat summer” trend on social media.

“Kamala IS brat,” the 31-year-old pop singer wrote on July 21. The X post has received more than 18 million views and 244.6K likes and has been widely shared by Gen-Z audiences.

What Is Brat Summer?

Charli XCX and Gen-Z has dubbed 2024 summer as “brat summer,” rejecting last year’s “clean girl” aesthetic and swapping Barbie’s hot pink for neon green as the color of the trending phenomenon. The muse of the “brat” trend is model Julia Fox, who earned a shout out with “so Julia” in the track “360” and was featured in the single’s music video.

“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,” the singer described the aesthetic in a TikTok video. “It is honest, blunt, and a little bit volatile. That’s Brat.’ Think Courtney Love in the ’90s, Amy Winehouse in the early aughts, and Ke$ha in the 2010s.”

How Kamala Harris Became The Latest Face Of A Brat Summer

After President Biden’s announcement, the @BidenHQ official campaign account on X transformed into @KamalaHQ, the “official rapid response page of Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign.”

The campaign quickly capitalized on Charli XCX’s viral post, updating its cover photo to mimic the style of the Brat album: all lowercase font over a slime green background.

On TikTok, content creators remixed some of Harris’ most meme-worthy lines, including “Do you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” with Charli XCX’s Brat music.

Another social media user, @ryanlong03, created a mashup of clips featuring Harris set to the Brat soundtrack. The post has over three million views on X. “Why did I stay up till 3 a.m. making a Von Dutch Brat coconut tree edit featuring Kamala Harris, and why can’t I stop watching it on repeat?” they wrote in the caption.

“Brat summer” is not only the meme that’s gained traction online since Biden’s announcement. Supporters of Harris have also revived the long-viral “Coconut Tree” quote, which originated from remarks the Vice President made at a White House event last year.

“You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you,” the quote says. As Forbes reported, several users “used the meme to defend Harris as their pick over Biden, instead of a different candidate at a possible open convention, pointing out another candidate ‘can’t just fall out of a coconut tree.’”

Biden endorsed Harris shortly after withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race. Since then, celebrities including Jamie Lee Curtis, Cardi B, Kathy Griffin, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jon Cryer, Robin Thede, Rosie O’Donnell, Lizzo, and Spike Lee have expressed their support for Harris’ presidential campaign.