'kamala is brat': Analyzing Gen-Z's impact on the Presidential Campaign
On July 21, 2024, democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, announced that he was dropping out of the presidential race and endorsed his VP, Kamala Harris for nomination. In his statement to the media, Biden states, "While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for my term,".
What is “Brat”?
Numerous debates on recent news stories including a CNN segment have been trying to dissect the term ‘Brat’. The official definition as said by Charli xcx on TikTok is that brat is, “just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes, who feels herself, but then also maybe has a breakdown, but kind of parties through it”. This definition has confused many, who are unable to understand why branding Kamala as ‘Brat’ is a positive thing.
Impacts of this new branding approach
The Kamala Harris campaign reportedly raised over 200 million dollars in the first week which, to help put in perspective, is only 64 million dollars less than what Biden’s campaign raised during the whole second quarter (April through June). Beyond social listening and Gen-Z analytics, it is clear that the appeal of the presidential candidate has only grown as a result of this branding. However, as with all social media, there are dangers to be wary of.
The ‘brat’ concept heavily skews to appealing towards young people, many of whom the democrats have already secured. If the campaign leans too heavily into this trend, it could risk alienating older voters.
It is without a doubt that news cycles have become vicious, with fast turn arounds that barely leaves you a second to blink. The same phenomenon has spread through internet trends, even coining the term “micro-trends” to describe something that becomes really popular yet dies quickly, usually within a span of a week or so. While “brat summer” has been making its rounds since early June, it was only truly memorialized with the help of the presidential campaign, something that will take precedence in the United States over the next few months. If Harris’ team attaches her too tightly to this concept, she might just begin to fade with the trend—especially as summer comes to a close. So far, they seem to have avoided this mishap, jumping from one trend to another, making sure that they are staying true to their brand yet relevant.
