What’s a ‘brat summer,’ and why is Vice President Kamala Harris a part of it?

“She’s everywhere, she’s so Kamala,” Charli XCX might say in a remix of her song “360.” Or she could remix “Apple” and change the words to, “I guess the coconut doesn’t fall from the tree.”

If you’re scratching your head right now and wondering, “What in the world did I just read?” you probably haven’t been on Generation Z’s side of social media recently — or maybe you have, and that exact question is why you clicked on this article.

For those who have, you’ve likely seen terms like “Charli XCX,” “coconut tree” or “brat summer” becoming associated with one Vice President Kamala Harris. And if you haven’t, well, yeah, that’s what’s happening on TikTok, X — and everywhere else.

It all began exploding on Sunday, after President Joe Biden announced he was ending his re-election campaign and offering his “full support and endorsement” for Harris to be the Democratic nominee. Charli XCX then said in a post on X, “kamala IS brat.” The message now has 40 million views, and the lime green-themed meme format seemingly became one with the VP’s campaign.

But what do the terms mean, and why is Harris embracing them? Let’s backtrack.

Charli XCX and “Brat”

Charli XCX is the British musician behind the “Brat” renaissance, which kicked off with the June release of her sixth studio album, “Brat.”

According to a TikTok video Charli posted on July 1, a “brat” is “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 kinda, like, parties through it, is very honest, is very blunt, a little bit volatile. Does dumb things, but it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat.”

@charlixcx what it means to be a brat :) #OffTheRecord ♬ Club classics – Charli xcx

But her fans have taken it to mean other things beyond Charli’s description, too. For the most part, the definitions boil down to brat being an attitude or mindset that exudes a level of confidence, rebellious nature, empowerment and a “cool girl” vibe.

The term then ignited the “brat summer” movement. With songs from “Brat” as its theme song, a “brat summer” encompasses actions, outfits, vactions or anything else that can be described by the descriptions under the brat umbrella.

And there’s also the album’s simple cover art, which features a lime green square and the somewhat blurry word “brat” typed in a lowercase Arial font. The format has since been adapted into memes used by businesses, fans and now — to bring it full circle — Harris’ campaign.

How Harris became associated with being “brat”

Reading all those definitions for “brat” above might not seem like the type of description a presidential hopeful would want from voters, but that’s not how Gen Z — or the Harris campaign — seems to view it.

For Gen Z, the album and the term “brat” have spawned loads of new meme formats, with songs from “Brat” playing in the background of meme videos or a lime green glossing various meme photo posts.

And in recent months, a group of those memes have begun featuring Harris as their star. Some feature references to her love of Venn diagrams or compilations of her laughing or dancing, but most seem to reference her 2023 speech in which she recounted one of her mother’s sayings: “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.”

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The Harris meme format then began exploding after the president’s announcement and endorsement Sunday, along with Charli adopting Harris as a fellow “brat.”

Soon after Charli’s post on X, the “Kamala HQ” X account changed its header to a lime green background with “kamala hq” in a lowercase Arial font, seemingly cementing herself as a member of the brat community. Plus, the page’s bio reads “Providing context,” which is a nod to the coconut tree meme.

And the campaign’s adoption of Gen Z’s lingo and forms of communication seem to be paying off. The VP’s HQ account saw its followers more than double overnight, and her campaign announced that it had raised $81 million in 24 hours.

Plus, those outside of Gen Z have begun using the memes as symbols of support, especially the coconut ones.

And with that, we’ll leave you with this: