Kamala Harris Is Using Meme Culture to Woo Gen-Z Voters. Are They Buying It?

Kamala Harris brat meme

Kamala HQ’s TikTok page is a perfect example of running a Presidential campaign page in a world driven by the attention economy — quick, snappy posts with bite-sized explanations of some of the Vice President’s policy proposals, edits of Kamala Harris on the campaign trail to trending sounds, and frequent memes deriding former President Trump’s incompetence and emphasizing Harris’ qualifications. The most common meme and edit format has been a combination of clips of Harris speaking over songs from “brat,” the megahit album of the summer by British artist Charli XCX.  As smart as this campaigning method is, Selwa Khan, a Gen-Z voter of Egyptian and Guyanese descent and organizer at the University of Albany, isn’t quite convinced. She cannot ignore the inaction of Harris and the Biden administration amidst the ongoing genocide in Gaza. “If she was less of a war criminal, I would give her a round of…


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Maryam Ahmad (she/her) is a writer that focuses on the intersections of politics and pop culture. She is a graduate from Wellesley College with a degree in Political Science and Cinema and Media Studies, and her work has been published in outlets including Nerdist, JoySauce, and The American Muslim Project.