What Does 'Kamala Is Brat' Mean? How Gen Z Memes Turned Kamala Harris Into A 'Brat Summer' Icon

Why are Gen Z users around the internet calling presidential candidate Kamala Harris a "brat" and what does pop singer Charli XCX have to do with it? Is being a "brat" a good thing in 2024?

If you're unsure about the answers to any of these questions and why they're important to the high-profile 2024 United States Presidential Election, you can learn more about the "Brat Summer" trend and why Kamala Harris' team is doubling down on it in our brief explainer.

What Is Charli XCX's 'Brat' Album and What Is The ‘Kamala Is Brat’ Meme?

The Kamala Is Brat meme stems from British singer Charli XCX's latest album Brat, which was released in early June 2024. The hyperpop record quickly rose to become a cultural phenomenon, spawning the Brat Summer meme and trend.

A play on the idea of "hot girl summer," the currently hot trend is defined by the brat aesthetic of green-and-black colors and, obviously, songs from Charli XCX's album.

The idea of being a "brat" boils down to being a little messy and party-loving but honest and a little volatile, as Charli XCX puts it, which appealed a lot to Gen Z and spawned lots of memes over the past month. As the trend has continued to expand, memes started recognizing Kamala Harris, who is younger and is generally perceived as more active than Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as a "brat" candidate, spawning the "Kamala Is Brat" meme.

Where Does ‘Kamala Is Brat’ Meme Come From?

On June 30th, 2024, TikTok user @temhota36 posted a video that applied the Brat Summer aesthetic to Kamala Harris' famous Fell Out of a Coconut Tree quote. The video, which used the song "360" by Charli XCX and applied the lime-green filter to the clip, was the first meme to recognize Harris as part of the brat movement, but it wasn't the last.

Even though Kamala Harris wasn't a presidential candidate yet, more edits and memes that entertained the idea of Harris being a "brat" candidate appeared on TikTok and X in the following weeks. The memes often reference another popular Kamala meme, her Fell Out of a Coconut Tree clip, which has recently became a symbol of Kamala Harris' campaign in memes with catchphrases such as "Coconut-Pilled" and "Project Coconut."

Finally, on July 21st, 2024, following the news of President Joe Biden dropping out of the 2024 Presidential Election and Kamala Harris looking to become the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, singer Charli XCX wrote on X / Twitter, "kamala IS brat," confirming her meme status and fueling the trend further.

How Did Kamala Harris' Team Reply To 'Kamala Is Brat' Meme?

Following the spread of Kamala Is Brat memes on TikTok and X / Twitter, the official campaign account of Kamala Harris' presidential run on X, @KamalaHQ, set a banner executed in the brat aesthetic, doubling down on the memes to appeal to the younger demographic.

For the full history of Kamala Is Brat, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.