Brat. The word that has taken over everyone’s social media feeds. So, what does it mean to be “Brat?” “You’re just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes, who feels like herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat,” singer Charli XCX explained on TikTok. What started as the name of her recent album has become the backbone of Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. We know it’s a successful album, and have all seen the Apple dance more times than we can count, but what about the campaign?

When British hyperpop artist Charli XCX first released the neon green cover of her new album, Brat, no one could have expected that same hue to be the background of the “Kamala hq” X (formerly Twitter) account. Before this, numerous videos of Harris were being posted, rallying Gen Z in support of her. Over the course of the next weeks, both the album and the campaign gained traction, with Harris’s own Instagram and TikTok posting “Brat” edits—fun, creative clips to uplifting music, as well as Charli XCX posting to X: “Kamala IS brat.” This post led to millions of views and thousands of likes and reposts, with people making their own fan pages of Harris, posting clips of her to various songs from Brat. 

Magazines such as Forbes and Aristotle have released articles on how to market to Gen Z, acknowledging that the new generation has had quite the impact on the success of businesses, and, as it now turns out, campaigns. A Forbes article published on August 24, 2022 titled “How to Appeal to Gen-Z Without Obviously ‘Marketing To Gen-Z’” said it best: “Members of Generation-Z make up a significant portion of the buyers shopping and purchasing from today’s businesses in every industry. Soon, they will become the largest group of consumers in the market overall.” Similarly, Aristotle’s February 2024 article “7 Tips to Engage Gen-Z Voters” said: “Gen-Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) is quickly becoming one of the largest voting demographics in the United States; in fact, in the upcoming 2024 presidential election, 40.8 million Gen Zers will be eligible to cast a ballot, and roughly 8.3 million of them will be participating in a federal election for the first time.” It is clear that Gen Z is one of the most influential groups at the moment, and through power in numbers, it is sure to make an impact. But what does Gen Z really think about how Kamala Harris is using social media to gather support from this up-and-coming generation?

HSMSE students had mixed opinions on how successful Kamala’s social media presence is toward her campaign. Annalie Merkel (‘26) said “It made my social media feed more active in regards to the political campaign and it was following trends that I had seen and liked.” This positive opinion was reiterated by Greer Silberbush (‘26) who said, “I think it’s important that Kamala Harris is connecting to our generation through social media because it will be the first election for many Gen Z-ers and it makes [us] feel good that we will have a say in our country’s leader. We are the future.” However, this opinion wasn’t shared by all. Addison Saji (‘25) said, “I don’t know how I feel about bringing trends into politics because historically politics have always been very serious and professional.” While these students don’t all agree, it is clear that Kamala Harris’s social media presence and choices have made a mark amongst the Gen Z crowd. Now, the only thing that’s left to do is wait and see how voters react to this new use of social media in November. It’s apparent that Kamala Harris IS brat, but will she become president?