Today we’re diving into Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign strategy as she gears up for the 2024 presidential race. In an effort to connect with younger voters, her campaign is embracing Gen Z trends and internet memes. Let’s break down how Harris’s team is trying to win over the youth vote with some creative, and sometimes cringeworthy, tactics.
The Kamala HQ account screams “we need a graphic designer” pic.twitter.com/GPOHEWnzKq
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) July 22, 2024
With age and fitness for office becoming central themes in the 2024 election, Harris’s campaign is focusing on engaging young voters through social media trends. Axios recently reported that her team is leaning into popular Gen Z themes like “brat summer” and remixing some of her more awkward public moments into memes.
The term “brat summer” stems from pop star Charlie XCX’s latest album, Brat, which has garnered significant attention this year. As described by Glamour, brat summer is an aesthetic and lifestyle inspired by the album’s gritty, high-energy vibe, representing a departure from the bright, cheerful themes of the Barbie summer. Charlie XCX characterizes “brat” as embodying a messy, party-loving, sometimes foolish persona, which resonates with the chaotic energy many millennials and Gen Zers feel.
BRAT Kamala shirts already on Fire Island. The gays move SO FAST pic.twitter.com/Zq3e9yctzv
— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) July 21, 2024
The campaign’s embrace of this trend was cemented when Charlie XCX herself declared on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), “kamala is brat,” shortly after President Joe Biden endorsed Harris. In response, Harris’s campaign headquarters mirrored the lime green cover design of the Brat album, aiming to capture the trend’s essence. This move coincided with a surge of memes on TikTok, remixing Harris’s viral moments with songs from the Brat album.
Harris has had her fair share of viral clips. One memorable video features her dancing and explaining how to prepare a Thanksgiving turkey, which quickly spread across the internet. Another infamous clip from 2023, where Harris says, “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,” has inspired a plethora of coconut-themed memes. According to Reuters, the coconut tree audio had been used more than 3,000 times on TikTok by Tuesday.
Kamala seeing the CNN polls this morning pic.twitter.com/5Tvy8zmF3L
— Armand Domalewski (@ArmandDoma) July 2, 2024
Chris Mowrey, a Democratic social media influencer with 340,000 TikTok followers, told Reuters that internet moments can influence young voters’ decisions at the ballot box. He highlighted that Gen Z voters, born between 1997 and 2012, often vote based on personality and vibes, which Harris’s campaign is trying to leverage.
It’s that time of year! @VP Harris’s wet brine-dry brine turkey advice to my husband in 2019. #gobblegobble #annualtradition pic.twitter.com/MhDcN4WjOh
— Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) November 23, 2022
Despite these efforts, Harris faces challenges in winning over young voters. A recent Quinnipiac poll found that 55% of voters aged 18 to 34 have an unfavorable opinion of Harris, compared to 40% who feel the same about Trump. However, Harris fares better among young voters than 81-year-old Biden, who has a 67% unfavorable rating in this demographic.
