Footage from CNN has been making the rounds on social media, after the hosts attempted to explain the ‘Kamala is Brat’ meme to their viewers.
The term arose after Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race over the weekend (July 21), and it was confirmed that vice president Kamala Harris would be representing the Democratic party in the upcoming election.
Almost immediately, a plethora of famous faces came forward to back her bid, including John Legend – who called for the American public to “elect Kamala Harris as our President” – George Takei, and Jamie Lee Curtis. However, it was support from Charli XCX that drew the most attention, as the singer made a nod to the success of her latest album (and pop culture phenomenon) by sharing a tweet reading “Kamala IS brat”.
Not only did it play into ‘Brat’ being the album of the summer, it also came after a video of the Vice President was mashed up with the Charli song ‘360’ was created and soon went viral online.
@flextillerson kamala harris edit to 360 by charli xcx. brat presidency #kamalaharris #kamala #biden #harris2024 #charli #charlixcx #brat #360
Honing into the support from the singer, Harris’ HQ team soon launched a new Twitter banner in the style of Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’ artwork – and CNN found itself having to explain the ‘Brat Summer’ trend to its viewers.
In one of the segments yesterday (July 22), anchor Jake Tapper and correspondent Jamie Gangel attempted to explain the term to their audience, with the latter saying: “For those who are not in the know the way I am, that is a cool thing. It has a colour – chartreuse”.
She also looked at her notes to give a proper definition as shared by the singer. “Charli XCX, who I do know [said]: ‘Brat: You’re just that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes.’”
Tapper seemed visibly confused during the segment, and went on to ask if that meant that everyone is brat. “I don’t know if you’re brat,” anchor Kaitlan Collins responded. “I think you aspire to be brat — you don’t just become brat. You have to try.” Watch the segment below.
Charli xcx and “brat” are being discussed live on @CNN following Charli’s recent “kamala IS brat” tweet pic.twitter.com/vZGmo036dL
— xcx source (@xcxsource) July 22, 2024
President Biden’s withdrawal from the Presidential race was shared on Sunday (July 21), and the 81-year-old plans to serve out the remainder of his term in office, which ends at noon on January 20 2025. He immediately endorsed Harris to be the next president of the US.
He explained that the decision was made “in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”
A host of stars soon came out to respond to the political update, including Ariana Grande, Lizzo and Barbra Streisand, and outlets including Stereogum have reported that Harris’ campaign raised a reported $81million in the 24 hours since Biden dropped out. If that figure is true, it will be the largest single-day total raised by any candidate in US history.
You can find more memes of the ‘Kamala IS brat’ trend below.
@thejaredalexander Coconut Tree x Brat summer #kamalaharris #brat #fireisland #fyp
For my Gen X followers:
Charli XCX (@charli_xcx) saying Kamala is brat would be like if Christina Aguilera endorsed Obama by tweeting he was Dirrty.
Follow me for more Z to X translations.
— Possessionista (@Possessionista) July 22, 2024
kamala harris dancing to charli xcx constant repeat crowd pic.twitter.com/mN4b0Zlf5u
— kabayotan media (@eitapes) April 15, 2022
Kamala just rose + 365% in the polls pic.twitter.com/xQTfawM4OL
— EZ (@Izzybb310) July 22, 2024
The Charli XCX album has undoubtedly become one of the biggest hits of the summer, and has dominated social media and fashion trends since its release last month.
In a four-star review of ‘Brat’, NME wrote: “It all paints a picture of who XCX is in 2024. Growing pains, grief and aching doubts come alongside self-confidence, celebration and the knowledge of the place XCX holds in the musical landscape – indeed, she kicks off ‘360’ with the knowing: “I went my own way and I made it / I’m your favourite reference baby”.
“With ‘Brat’, XCX demonstrates that going her own way will always sound pretty good.”
It also got fans talking recently when actor Kyle MacLachlan recently shared his admiration of the singer online, and went on to discuss how his Twin Peaks character is “Brat-coded”.
“Once I understood ‘babygirl’ then everything fell into place,” he said in an interview. He also called the ‘Brat’ artwork “bright”, “compelling, and eye-catching” enough for him to change his Instagram profile to mimic the cover.
The post Watch CNN attempt to explain the ‘Kamala is Brat’ Charli XCX memes appeared first on NME.
