“Kamala IS a brat,” declared Charli XCX, a longtime pop star who has recently skyrocketed to A-list fame with her latest album. Posted to X on July 21, the same day Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic nominee, the post has since accrued over 50,000 reposts and 300,000 likes and has had an unfathomable impact on Harris’ campaign.
The British pop star Charli xcx (who, notably, cannot vote in the U.S.) has since commented on her unintentional spark that lit this strange political movement, telling New York Magazine that it was a one-off comment meant to be “positive and lighthearted”. This, however, is in of itself telling of how powerful social media has become regarding our socio-political climate: all it takes is one post to entirely redefine the image of the person at hand.
If you’ve spent any time on social media whatsoever in the last month, odds are you’ve been subject to what can only be referred to as a “memeification” of politics. Countless edits of Harris’ more well-known sayings have gone viral, many featuring remixes of songs from Charli XCX’s aforementioned album brat. Most notably, a line from a speech given last year has gained traction, where Harris quotes her mother in reference to younger generations: “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” she sports her iconic laugh, “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you,”
Initially, the quote was discussed in tandem with other seemingly random things Harris has said during her Vice Presidential speeches, including her gushing over nostalgia for yellow school buses in 2022 or the time she discussed the Biden administration’s efforts to mitigate COVID-19 by saying, “it’s time for us to do what we have been doing, and that time is every day.” Republicans weaponized these moments to infantilize Harris as a political figure, with Democrats essentially ignoring the occasions altogether. Prior to Harris’ nomination, it appeared the public’s general consensus on the politician was one of dismissal – so how is it that her unserious comments have turned from a laughing stock to a means of political support?
As social media continues to cement itself into the cultural zeitgeist of the 21st century, the further it becomes entangled with important social structures such as politics. This convergence first became notable during the 2016 election, particularly by former President Donald Trump, who sports an entire article on Wikipedia dedicated solely to his social media use. While before, platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook were utilized socially, today they are used as a means of influence. Politicians such as Trump are free to spread whatever they please, such as a recent photoshopped image reposted on Trump’s Truth Social account that depicts Democrats like Harris, Biden, and Hillary Clinton in orange jumpsuits. While this may appear to be a far cry from the lighthearted coconut tree edits of Harris, there is an underlying theme of utilizing doctored images and falsehoods to elicit strong emotions out of voters: while Trump is using memes to enforce a level of spite in his supporters against liberals, Harris has used them to make the election and her campaign a relatable entertainment spectacle.
With that said, the question remains whether or not this recent cultural development ultimately benefits the structure of American politics as we know it. On one hand, memes featuring Harris are introducing her to young voters; those who may not have given politics a second thought could be more inclined to show up at the polls in November thanks to the humor and relevancy her virality has afforded her. On the other hand, the blithe nature of these memes understates the significance of politics and the real-life consequences that occur when a specific person or party is voted into office. I believe it can be argued that a large part of Trump’s 2016 win was due to many voters refusing to take him seriously. When a serious matter like politics becomes minimized, it takes power away from voters and into potentially dangerous hands.
While Charli XCX had no clue her comment would create the domino effect it did, this example of intertwining pop culture with politics is not the first and definitely not the last. Like with most things, there is no right or wrong answer regarding the topic of social media use in government affairs. The benefits of reaching a wider scope of potential voters cannot be understated – but the trivialization of politics is a dangerous rabbit hole the U.S. has perhaps already fallen into. Thus, as brat summer turns into election cycle fall, keep in mind the ramifications that a simple post or meme can have.
Alison Cranney can be reached at [email protected]