Following Biden’s exit from the race, British musician Charli xcx tweeted “kamala IS brat,” in reference to her album of the same name, which lionizes a messy, party girl persona. While Harris may not truly embody the “brat summer” spirit (you’re unlikely to find the Vice President “bumpin’ that” on a Saturday night), an endorsement from an of-the-moment artist sent young, chronically online Democrats into overdrive. Across the convention, it was hard to miss the flashes of chartreuse, be it delegates wearing “kamala” pins in the telltale font from Charli’s divisive album cover, or the “she’s so kamala” shirts on merch tables, a nod to her single “360.” On the final day of the convention, New York delegates receiving their credentials were even treated to a “ny dems” sticker in the style of Brat. While the younger generation has certainly leaned into the reference, what does the older generation make of it?
Foster Hoch, creative director at the New York State Democratic Party—who was responsible for developing merch for the New York delegation—reports an outpouring of enthusiasm from senior delegates. Though, he admits, he does often have to educate them on what Brat actually is. “They’re really into it, but it does take a little bit of explaining to get them to that point of getting into it, but they’ve been eating it up,” he says. So how does one explain Brat? “I say it’s a music album by a very popular artist, and that Kamala team is playing off of it. And as soon as they hear the Kamala team is playing off of it, they love it.”
