Guest Essay: Reveling in BRAT Summer

Authenticity is a big asset in politics.

Aug 04, 2024

What is 'brat summer?' And what does it have to do with Kamala Harris

by Jessie Daniels

It’s BRAT summer, in case you didn’t know by now.

There’s a new vibe in the air. Suddenly everyone is talking about coconut trees and existing in the context. And laughing.

A LOT has happened in the past few weeks, so let’s recap.

Amid calls for President Biden to step aside, a video resurfaced of Vice President Kamala Harris retelling a story about her mother:

"My mother used to - she would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?' You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you."

At first sight, what’s striking about the video is how immensely funny this story is to her. She starts talking about the coconut tree and breaks into this big hearty laugh. Who knew a coconut tree could be so funny?

The irony of it all, though, is that the video had originally been put out last year by the research team at the Republican National Committee, intending to highlight how wildly nonsensical Kamala is, to make us ask, what on Earth is she talking about with these coconut trees and existing in the context?

It was meant to make us laugh at her.

But the more we watched it and talked about it, the more they began to realize that it’s not as nonsensical as it first sounds – and in that context, it became rather endearing because of the joy she finds in it. Suddenly, we weren’t laughing at her, we were laughing with her.

Then Kamala became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and the pop singer Charli XCX declared: “Kamala is BRAT.”

Now talk about something that sounded nonsensical to the non-Gen Z crowd. BRAT? Although it seemed like it was meant in the best way, what exactly did Charli mean?

Being brat, Charli explained on social media, is “You’re just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes, who feels like herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat.”

Let’s be honest: this is not the way most politicians want to be described.

But then Charli added that anyone can be brat. “It can go that way, like, quite luxury, but it can also be so, like, trashy. Just, like, a pack of cigs, and, like, a Bic lighter, and, like, a strappy white top. With no bra. That’s, like, kind of all you need.”

Again, not the way most politicians want to be described.

But think about it more and what she’s really getting at is authenticity. Being brat is about being yourself. It’s okay not to live up to society’s idea of what is perfect. Life is messy. Accept that and you do you. Be brat. Be yourself – and we can laugh with you.

Authenticity is a big asset in politics.

Brat took hold. Kamala’s campaign leaned into it. Others followed suit, joining the coconut tree bandwagon. The use of coconut and tree emojis skyrocketed. Senators climbed coconut trees. DC bars offered deals on pina coladas. BRAT summer in politics was upon us.

Okay, here’s where things start to get weird. Into this brave new world stepped JD Vance. While Trump was busy with his usual multitasking – playing golf and raging about Biden on social media – his veep choice spoke at a rally in Ohio. It was his first campaign event since Trump chose him as a running mate, and his first campaign event since Trump reportedly started regretting choosing him as a running mate. But here he was, in front of a charged crowd that was already fired up by the prospect of civil war should Trump lose. So much for toning down the rhetoric.

Vance was talking about the need for Voter ID when he pivoted to a joking riff about racism:

"It is the weirdest thing to me. Democrats say that it is racist to believe... Well, they say it's racist to do anything,” he said. “I had a Diet Mountain Dew yesterday, and one today, I’m sure they’re gonna call that racist too but — it’s good.”

Cue extreme weirdness.

A smattering of uneasy laughter pierced the painful silence. Then, to make it worse, Vance laughed awkwardly at his own joke. Then, he told the crowd – with less conviction than when he’s railing against childless cat ladies or lazy hillbillies – that he loved them.

A coconut tree moment, this was not.

While demeaning people might be the only authentic thing about Vance, it also seemed very anti-brat. Later, the more the clip was viewed, there was even a rare moment of unity: no one thought it was funny. There was no joy, just collective cringe.

Because you can’t laugh at being called out on racism when you’re calling for restrictive laws that hurt marginalized communities a moment before. Or when your own party’s leadership explicitly had to tell its members not to be racist because they’re being racist. Or when your policy bible, Project 2025 would take away hard-won rights and advance a vision of the future that looks like the worst vestiges of the past.

And you certainly can’t laugh with that.

The joke fell flat, but BRAT summer rolled on. Because at the heart of it is joy. In a time so fraught, laughing with each other – not at each other – seems so much more important to so many. It’s about being yourself while also being part of something bigger. Maybe that’s why so many are reveling in BRAT summer, finding a way to exist with each other, in the context of all in which we live and what came before us, instead of stewing in a perpetual winter of degradation.

Jessie Daniels is a writer based in New York. She is also a Truman National Security Project security fellow.