SALLY BOWREY: Kamala is BRAT

Whenever I feel lost at sea while surfing the BIG issues on the internet, I turn to the comfort of Gen Z to break it down for me into 21 characters or less.

They have a way of summing up the world stage, by zoning in on the obscure and then detonating it across the internet ... all in lowercase and with confusing punctuation.

Before you scoff, a warning, don’t underestimate the power of the meme.

This week the internet spat out its hot-take on presidential hopeful Kamala Harris, declaring her BRAT.

I brought up BRAT to my husband as he walked in the door last night from work and, despite his seemingly endless appetite for news, I was met with a “WHAT are you talking about?!”

Followed by a furrowed brow, a telltale sign of concern for a loved one.

So, I did what I always do when met with quizzical stares from my family (about their missing socks, or why my Amazon spend month-on-month keeps rising …)

I gave them a flow chart.

What is BRAT?

1. B.B. (Before Brat) Kamala Harris was already resource rich, the iron-ore mineral of memes. Her dancing, occasional maniacal laugh and random sound bites at press conferences, such as, “you think you just fell from a coconut tree” were already gaining cultural traction and lowercase love from Gen Z.

2. BRAT drops! Charlie XCX unleashes her new album titled BRAT to critical acclaim and commercial success. She describes BRAT as “that girl who is messy, says dumb things and parties through it”. The album cover is a shock-to-the-iris acid green with a very Gen Z “brat” branded in lo-fi Aerial font. As the kids say — it’s an “aesthetic.”

3. Kamala is BRAT ... is born! Charlie ordains Kamala is BRAT on X, 50 million likes quickly follow. A barrage of mashups of Kamala dancing and talking about coconuts hit TikTok, all washed in a distinct green filter and set to the sound of Von Dutch. The kids love it, declaring Kamala’s word salads will live rent-free in their minds. Kamala is crowned the gift social media never knew it was waiting for.

A quick google shows the BRAT-pack is bulldozing its way into mainstream media.

American news anchors are awkwardly trying to explain it, analysing their own level of BRAT on CNN in true boomer-style. Hint, it’s low.

Kamala’s former speechwriter is urging her to “lean into the meme”.

Her social media accounts have now swapped the Democrat blue banner for Charlie XCX green.

No doubt Team Kamala is trying to maximise this moment, with polls now showing Harris tracking ahead of Trump. But Kamala must walk a fine pop culture line, because it’s an easy tumble into peak cringe.

Just ask Hillary Clinton, who is still trying to shrug off the stench of her “Pokemon go to the Polls” line back in 2016.

I am not trying to say a bunch of memes can sway an election, but Kamala’s BRAT status shows she is connecting with the kids (and by kids, I mean the 26-33 year olds).

To them, she is real and prepared to meet them — at their level.

It makes Trump walking around with his mini “ear pillow” suddenly seem very stale.

Even Joe Biden jumped on the rhetoric as he glitched his way through his Oval Office address on Thursday, stating it was time for new voices, fresh voices, young voices … then he lost his place in the autocue.

Pop culture is the ultimate tool to earworm us in elections. JFK got Sinatra to rejig High Hopes for the 1960 election, Clinton ran a boomer campaign, with the biggest boomer band of them all Fleetwood Mac and Obama had no qualms about dropping quotes by Jay-Z to win hearts during his time as POTUS.

Obama might have been around for the start of social media, but Harris could be the candidate to OWN it.

These are supercharged times, with huge consequences far beyond America’s borders. So, if like me, you occasionally need the big issues broken down into a few characters, I highly recommend the META-verse, which makes it all so simple.

Joe is OLD.

Trump is FELON.

Kamala is BRAT.

Word.