In the News · Posted 1 minute ago Confused On What “Kamala Is Brat” Means? I Gotchu Or whoever's asking (including yourself). by Alana Valko BuzzFeed Staff Link Facebook Pinterest Twitter Mail If you've spent even a minute on social media in the past few weeks, you've probably come across a Kamala Harris coconut tree meme , something about living in the context, or most recently, "Kamala is BRAT." kamala IS brat — Charli (@charli_xcx) July 22, 2024 Twitter: @charli_xcx If you, a loved one, a friend, or a foe are wondering what the hell all this means and why everything has suddenly turned chartreuse green, don't worry—I got you.
Alana Valko's clueless friend It's all part of the recent memeification of Kamala Harris , which first started as a funny little corner of the internet, particularly when a video of Harris asking, "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," went viral. fuck it, thread of kamala harris’s funniest veep moments, starting with “you think you fell out of the coconut tree?” 1/ pic.twitter.
com/wyo4j2WPxt — white kate moss (@bailey_s26) July 3, 2024 Twitter: @bailey_s26 WHY it went viral? Well, as with any meme, it's silly and doesn't always make sense, especially when taken out of context (as Harris said herself, this isn't anything new — you exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you). A random clip of Harris, who's already been dubbed goofy with her contagious laughter, cackling while asking, "You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?" is like, wait, what — a coconut tree? Once it's meme'd, there's no telling how far the joke will go. And this joke went faaaarrrr.
.. kamala falling from the coconut tree and into the oval office pic.
twitter.com/yLCbORoOjK — Alex (@alexxmalloy) July 21, 2024 Twitter: @alexxmalloy The original clip is from a speech Harris gave over a year ago at a ceremony for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics. Like, there were a million memes about the damn coconut tree and existing in the context.
Born to fall out of a coconut tree, forced to live in the context — Daniel (@growing_daniel) July 2, 2024 Twitter: @growing_daniel Mind you, this was happening as fears around Joe Biden's fitness as president grew, and people started zooming in closer on Harris. please let me back into the coconut tree I would no longer like to exist in this context — April Glick Pulito ⸆⸉ 🥥 🌴🤠 (@aprilglick) July 15, 2024 Twitter: @aprilglick A senator even joined in. we've got US senators doing coconut tree memes https://t.
co/YZ9UkKEcJX — bryan metzger (@metzgov) July 22, 2024 Twitter: @metzgov Then came the Brat memes – which, let me back up and explain, cause that's why you're here. While the mess of US politics has slowly unfolded this summer, in parallel, Charli XCX, a British popstar who's existed somewhat on the periphery of popular music (if you don't know her, you might know her song, "Boom Clap," a summer radio anthem of 2014), released her now critically-acclaimed lime green album, Brat , in early June. The album cover and "attitude" of it became a viral sensation.
BRAT OUT NOWWWW!!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/JHsLbjO049 pic.twitter.
com/gmo4udz5ZN — Charli (@charli_xcx) June 6, 2024 Twitter: @charli_xcx Young people connected with Charli's messy, unapologetic club-bops and declared it a "Brat Summer" (similar to Megan Thee Stallion's Hot Girl Summer of 2019 and last year's Barbie summer ). I think the bold tone yet stripped-down, accessible, and kinda messy aesthetic (a basic font and one-color story) resonated with fans coming off the heels of a very commercialized girlhood-obsessed Barbie summer and other popularized "clean girl" aesthetics . Katja Ogrin/Redferns / Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images And as others have pointed out , the rise of Brat is not unlike indie sleaze aesthetic and party anthems (aka "recession pop") that dominated as a response to the 2008 recession.
After all, some have argued we are in a "Silent Depression," as rising costs of living outpace income. Historically, a trend towards happier music often marked periods of economic uncertainty. Perhaps it's the cost of living crisis, the pandemic aftermath, or the current US political state; whatever it is, people need an escape, and Brat' s providing that.
OK, but what does Brat have to do with Kamala Harris? Well, with Brat kinda at the center of chronically online Gen Z culture, and with Charli XCX herself dubbing Harris "brat," Harris' presidential campaign quickly co-opted the moment. @flextillerson / @KSVesq / Via tiktok.com Yes, @KamalaHQ , the official webpage of the Harris campaign (formerly known as @BidenHQ), rebranded with a Brat theme and wrote "providing context" in the bio, an ode to Harris' now famously meme'd speech.
The Biden campaign’s official account, Biden-Harris HQ, has officially rebranded to Kamala HQ with a ‘brat’ theme. pic.twitter.
com/xy4FhdE5h7 — Pop Base (@PopBase) July 22, 2024 Twitter: @PopBase Alright, but what does being "brat" even mean, and why is Kamala Harris "brat"? Well, Charli XCX herself explained "brat" in a TikTok , saying, “You're just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party, and like maybe says some like dumb things sometimes, who like feels herself but then also like maybe has a breakdown, but kinda like parties through it, is very honest, is very blunt, a little bit volatile. Yeah, does like dumb things, but like, it's brat. You're brat.
That's brat." @charlixcx / Via tiktok.com As for why Kamala is considered a "brat," I did some good old-fashioned crowdsourcing and turned it over to my Zillennial group chat to get their opinions.
My friend, who considers herself an OG Charli XCX fan (who I also refer to as "lawyer brat" below), told me Kamala Harris is "brat" because she's bold, unapologetically herself, and tapping into young voters with relatability: Alana Valko's brat friends My other friend, who didn't know what "brat" meant originally at the beginning of this article, started grasping the concept: Alana Valko's brat friends Here's that video of Kamala Harris getting down with a school marching band. Basically, being "brat" is to be bold, be yourself, and have fun. Alana Valko's brat friends Like the opinions of my friends, I also saw quite a few TikToks online expressing the same sentiment that Harris is connecting with Gen Z, and that the "brat" memes are helping.
Kamala’s personal aid telling her what brat means and why they chose the logo pic.twitter.com/slxazapfJb — 💫 (@heyjaeee) July 22, 2024 HBO / Via Twitter: @heyjaeee One TikToker wrote , "The memeification of Kamala's campaign is going to win her the election bc she's the first candidate in years (ever?) to treat young people as a serious and important voting demographic.
Incorporating gen z culture into her marketing campaign is not only very brat, it also validates the importance of young voters as a population worth marketing to." And while some critics say the memeification is cringey and could contribute to "hero worship" of politicians (we know what that looks like), one user argued that the viral fan edits and memes are a smart marketing tactic to get young voters out to the polls, and it doesn't mean you can't be critical of Kamala Harris (especially by holding politicians accountable to their promises after inauguration day). Some people in the comments even admitted they weren't sure if they were going to vote but will now: @yaptastik / Via tiktok.
com Anyway, I'm kind of with that last comment — if Kamala Harris being a "brat" mobilizes young voters to the polls, I'm for it, but let me know what you think! And LASTLY, if you're still struggling to understand "brat," I loved this comparison for Gen X'ers (and millennials as well): For my Gen X followers: Charli XCX ( @charli_xcx ) saying Kamala is brat would be like if Christina Aguilera endorsed Obama by tweeting he was Dirrty. Follow me for more Z to X translations. — Possessionista (@Possessionista) July 22, 2024 Twitter: @Possessionista Basically, being brat is a good thing! I just asked a Zoomer to explain “Kamala IS brat” to me.
They said “Brat” was the title of an album by Charli XCX. They said they couldn’t really explain “Kamala IS brat” to me, but that it means something good. https://t.
co/ihx68xxiMA — Ron Waxman 🏳️🌈🇺🇦 (@RonWaxman) July 22, 2024 Twitter: @RonWaxman KK bye, brats! Share This Article Link Facebook Pinterest Twitter Mail Comments.
