As can be seen by Charli XCX’s moribund brat summer, trend cycles are short in the internet age. At its core a hedonistic reflection of the youth zeitgeist, Brat summer is a refusal to take anything seriously, an invitation to party the pain away. According to the singer herself, it’s “a pack of cigs, a Bic lighter, a strappy white top with no bra”; it’s “that girl who is a little messy […] but kind of parties through it”. It is not, I would have said, Kamala Harris. Touted as the album of the summer, brat spawned dance trends, endless text memes, the glamourization of ketamine, and a passion for chartreuse, but now faces the ultimate death knell of having become uncool.

“I fear the consequences of government officials being celebrities first, leaders second”

When she tweeted “kamala IS brat” following Joe Biden’s dropout of the presidential race, Charli XCX became political pundit as well as pop star. Attempting to meet the internet generation on their own terms, this prompted the team at Kamala HQ to rebrand. Many internet users (including journalists at Pitchfork) thus declared brat summer dead, as it breached the online and became mainstream. Like how your teacher saying “rizz” makes it immediately lame, I would argue that becoming ‘brat’ has made Harris somewhat of a dead joke. Whilst it’s true that Harris will need the youth vote to prevail over Trump in the upcoming election, doing so through meme politics is a dangerous game. Internet culture has a short shelf life, something a politician needs to avoid if they are to lead a country successfully. With Harris leaning into her ‘bratness,’ I worry she’s delegitimsing herself in the eyes of voters. Whilst charisma is essential in a good leader, it is ultimately damaging to a country’s stability if its politicians are voted in for their cults of personality alone rather than the efficacy of their policy and leadership.

“It seems being brat is risky, but it’s working”

Right-wing populist politicians like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage have previously faced criticism from the left for doing exactly this to garner votes; a vote for Trump isn’t a vote for the Republican party and its policies, it’s a vote for his image. Similarly, Farage gained votes through promising a return to the image of a UK past, rather than concrete policies that will change the way the country runs. In other words, they sell ideas rather than promote political change. The left had previously decried how our politicians had become idealistic salespeople, but now some laud Harris for doing the same. This isn’t to say that branding isn’t important for a politician, but I fear the consequences of government officials being celebrities first, leaders second.

Even so, with the rise of social media activism, youth political engagement is increasingly unconventional. In the first week of her campaign Harris has raised $200 million in campaign funds, 66 percent of which came from first-time sponsors. It seems being brat is risky, but it’s working. The question, then, is how long can it last? I worry Harris is falling into the trap of her predecessor Joe Biden, who was arguably voted in by virtue of not being Trump. Now referred to online as ‘genocide Joe,’ a trivialisation of his poor foreign policy, Biden is a prime example of how letting the internet dictate your image can ruin a politician. Leaning into meme politics means dipping your toes into the whirlpool that is internet trend cycles, accepting the threat of drowning. If social issues become lumped in with the internet’s rapid cultural cycle, we risk forgetting the importance and longevity of political engagement. There’s also the question of all the other voters besides. If Harris goes too hard on youth engagement, does she risk alienating older demographics with political meme-speak and incomprehensible green graphics?

As it stands, Harris has the youth’s attention, but to secure their vote she needs to listen to what they demand of her as a politician. If she is being disingenuous (if she’s being brat because it gets the most retweets) then she risks losing the engagement of younger voters. Harris killed brat by making it political, and what comes next is a very important step in keeping her campaign successful. She will need to keep being the moment in the eyes of the youth, all whilst balancing her image as a serious politician in the eyes of seasoned voters. Kamala Harris can’t die with brat. She needs to keep focus on all of her voters and maintain her position as presidential candidate first, beloved meme second.