Kamala Harris set out her campaign stall to a packed room of party workers in Delaware on Monday, noting with a smile that as a former prosecutor she “took on perpetrators of all kinds”.
“I know Donald Trump’s type,” she said, to rapturous applause.
The battle she outlined, between a former California attorney general and a convicted felon, is one of historic magnitude that will decide the future of America. Yet it is a video of Harris laughing as she says: “You think you just fell out a coconut tree?” that has reached more young people on social media.
The clip of a May 2023 Harris speech, shared by the Republican National Committee in an effort to inflict damage, shows her making the “coconut tree” comment – a line she attributes to her mother – before bursting into peals of laughter. She adds: “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
Republicans had hoped to portray Harris as wacky, unhinged and unfit for office – tropes often used to discredit candidates who are women or people of colour.
But Democrats have swiftly harnessed the meme, reposting an edited version of the clip along with other footage of Harris laughing and messing around, often overlayed with music from British singer Charli XCX’s chart-topping album: Brat.
The memes are now coming thick and fast. Her campaign has rebranded to look like the green Brat album cover, and the pop star endorsed the Vice President in a three-word X post that went viral on Monday, gathering 51.6 million views: “Kamala IS brat.”
Now, the question is whether the “memefication” of Harris will help or a hinder her campaign. While experts agree it will assist her in reaching young people, the media-savvy Trump and his team are already seeking to weaponise this lightweight image to denigrate the 59-year-old in the eyes of serious – and older – voters.
Ryan Long, the 22-year-old behind one viral clip, told BBC World Service: “Brat is the it girl, it is whatever you want it to be, I would put it akin to how last summer it was Barbie summer – this summer everything is lime green, everything is Brat – anything green is Brat.
“One of things about Kamala Harris that is so interesting is that she captures a lot of the energy that Trump does – so Donald Trump, he gets people really excited, he gets them riled up, he says off-the-cuff things, he says things that people find funny … and I think Kamala Harris does a great job of capturing that and getting people excited – and I think that if she can continue to keep doing that – she can get a lot of Gen Z to the ballot box in November.”
While it may appear a spontaneous and organic campaign, this is not the first time Harris has garnered support on social media using such methods. In 2020, before and during her presidential campaign, a group using the hashtag #KHive formed to support her candidacy and defend her from racist and sexist attacks. #KHive was a play on #BHive that takes its name from Beyoncé’s most fervent supporters.
Experts say that Harris’s campaign understands the value of piggybacking on celebrity trends and unleashing digital armies of supporters.
Dr James Dennis, a senior lecturer in political communication and journalism at University of Portsmouth, told i that the reason for “tapping into meme culture is due to how impactful it can be for mobilisation”.
He said Bernie Sanders in 2016 and Jeremy Corbyn in 2017 did similar with their campaigns, with the Labour leader harnessing grime music and Stormzy. “This helped mobilise young people and raise awareness and get them to pay attention and care about his campaign – that is the real strength here – and that is exactly what Kamala Harris is trying to do in terms of the Charli XCX album.
“Part of the magic is that this meme and popular culture around Brat – it is unique an relatable to young people in a way older demographics don’t understand, it speaks in their vernacular – it can help young people feel represented and draw their attention towards Kamala Harris’s campaign.”
According to a July AP-NORC poll, conducted after the debate but before Biden announced he was withdrawing as the Democratic nominee, younger adults between the ages of 18 and 29 have a slightly more favourable view of Harris than Biden.
While polling between Trump and Harris was neck-and-neck, only one in 10 did not know Trump – while two in 10 did not know Harris. This is despite polls indicating that issues such as abortion rights for women matter to younger voters, meaning she will have to fight for the attention of US youth, according to analysts.
Stephen Coleman, professor of political communication at the University of Leeds, told i: “Social media presence for KH is all about getting on young people’s radar. It’s not mainly about what they think of her – it’s certainly not about selling her policies. It’s simply about name and visual recognition.”
Dr Dennis added: “Meme culture can bring voters in … and then can bring in real issues.”
He said the campaign was likely to link heavily to a “key dividing line, which is abortion law” – one that clearly differentiates Harris and Trump, and appeals to younger voters.
Bart Cammaerts, a professor of politics and communication at the London School of Economics, told i: “I think this tactic will definitely work, but we should never get blindsided by the internet and social media metrics alone.
“The reason Kamala Harris resonates with young voters will not merely be because she and above all her campaign team ‘get’ social media, or because of memes – so does Trump and the Maga world, but in another, more negative, fearful and dark way.
“She will be supported more by young people because she represents a future and hope.”