As Brat summer comes to a close, what will the Kamala Harris campaign do without their main source of pr?
As millions lay down before bed and scroll through their social media platform of choice, this quote most likely haunts their feed. These videos are followed by some camp song (most commonly “360” by Charli XCX or “Femininomenon” by Chappell Roan) and an elaborate montage of Vice President Harris busting a move, making speeches, and laughing her iconic laugh.
Gen Z is ready for a Kamalanomenon and they’re campaigning to prove it! Never before has a presidential election been received like this. As Gen Z gets older, they are becoming louder and louder about their political views. First voicing their distaste for the elderly presidential choices. Then, vehemently shouting support for the new Democratic candidate. But will it be enough?
There have been various studies into the influence of social media on everyday life. A 2016 study in The Journal of Communication, found that social media can be highly persuasive during presidential campaigns. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok are used to spread political messaging, both through organic posts and paid advertisements.
The study concluded that exposure to political messages on social media can influence voter perceptions, particularly through the use of micro-targeting, which is where specific messages are tailored to different voter demographics. The study found that micro-targeting on Facebook and Instagram can sway undecided voters by focusing on issues they care about, often using algorithms that analyze browsing habits and online behavior.
Because of this, I am confident that Kamala Harris will be the next President of the United States.
Gen Z has revolutionized digital fluency and activism in a way that no other generation has before. They’ve merged the release of a hit album and made it into something bigger by attaching Harris as the face of the album. Feminists have used her vibrant personality and combined it with the Brat Summer aesthetic, utilizing the variance of current trends and aesthetics to align with their favorite presidential candidate.
This revolutionized the internet to such a degree that the creator of the Brat album, Charli XCX, tweeted “kamala IS brat”.
This took the media by storm. It started with the edits and became so big that the Harris campaign made their official color bright green (the color of the Brat album cover).
These videos are reaching millions of people on all sorts of platforms. They are getting millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes. They are encouraging YouTube commentary videos on this social media phenomenon. They are what is making the most headway for the upcoming election.
One of the most remarkable ways Gen Z has flexed its bratty political muscles this summer is by fundraising. They’re not just attending rallies, but they are forming what are called “Brat PACs”, which are Gen Z-led political action committees made to raise funds through selling merchandise, doing online challenges, and initiating donation drives.
These micro-fundraising campaigns have found inventive ways to engage supporters, such as “Venmo a Brat for Kamala,” where supporters send small donations to their favorite Gen Z activists who then funnel the funds to the Harris/Walz campaign. There is also the “Brat Walk Challenge,” where participants walk 5,000 steps a day in their bratty outfits while raising money for the campaign.
Beyond this, while it may not be a direct effect of these social media campaigning tactics, the week after replacing Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris made a record-breaking number of profits through fundraising. In just 7 days, her campaign received $200 million in profits, and for the month of July, it amounted to $310 million. One of the records shattered includes the fastest time to ever raise a billion dollars.
All of this to say, Donald Trump does have his fair share of edits buzzing around the internet, such as this one for example:
All jokes aside, there’s an obvious discrepancy in the way the media is portraying the two candidates. Kamala is getting powerful girlboss edits while Donald is getting mock-worthy homoerotic edits.
Don’t feel too bad for Trump though, as he’s done his best to change the narrative by supplying us with more edit material during the most recent debate. I’m sure you are familiar with the principle that all illegal aliens eat dogs and cats after their transgender surgeries! The internet would have definitely loved to make powerful edits of Donald explaining life-changing policies he’s ready to enact if he wins his second term but…oh right, he only has ‘concepts of a plan’. Too bad, that was such a missed opportunity.
This election alone has already set records for voter turn out. Early voting turn out is surpassing by 26% daily compared to the 2020 presidential election. In Virginia alone, the first day of early voting brought 2,352 people as opposed to the 1,659 in 2020. As a country, we have seen 200 new voters a day, and this is the least popular time for people to be casting their votes.
This is the summer where sass met substance and the future of politics might just look a little more bratty because of it.
Maybe this is the shift America needs. To stop looking at the presidency and politics as too far out of reach for the everyday citizen, but something that is a direct result of the everyday citizen’s actions; maybe even something that can be fun at times.
So on November 5th be sure to vote for the candidate that has the country’s best interest in mind. Vote Harris and Walz.