Kamala Harris hype explodes: What Charli XCX and coconuts have to do with it

Watson Kamala Harris hype explodes: What Charli XCX and coconuts have to do with it Dariusch Rimkus • 6 hours • 4 minutes reading time The first few hours after Joe Biden's withdrawal were eventful for Kamala Harris. The summer lull, which every year means that relevant political news is missing, is absent this year. While in this country there is not much more exciting happening than a few summer interviews on the Spree and budget discussions in the Chancellery next door, the German public is looking spellbound across the Atlantic to the USA. There, events in the election campaign unfolded rapidly. First, President Joe Biden messed up a TV debate and as a result lost his support among the Democrats. Then an assassination attempt was made on opponent and former President Donald Trump, who escaped with his life and portrayed himself as a hero. Most recently, Biden withdrew from the race at the weekend. At the same time, Biden made a clear recommendation for a candidate for the upcoming election: his Vice President Kamala Harris. In no time at all, most of the party's grandees rallied behind her and a donation record was set. Now Harris has also sparked a social media hype: two days ago, everyone in the Democrats was talking about Biden's health, but now it's about Harris' connection to Charli XCX - and coconuts. Kamala Harris "is brat": Charli XCX's support On Monday (German time), the media talked about few other topics, everything revolved around the questions: Does Kamala Harris have the support of the governors? Is she supported by Obama? In all these cases, does she even have a chance of winning against the favorite Donald Trump? And optimism spread: With Harris, more is definitely possible than with Biden. Her first public appearance since Biden's announcement also gave cause for hope; she seemed more enthusiastic and agile than the 81-year-old US President. After all the worries about his chances of winning the election in November, the public relief is palpable: Finally, a Trump competitor who people don't have to worry about tripping over her legs or words at any moment. Or freezing in the middle of a sentence. Part of the new mini-hype about Harris is taking place on social media. British pop artist Charli XCX also spoke out on X to give her opinion on Harris. She only needed three words to do so: "Kamala is brat." Charli XCX released her album "Brat" a few weeks ago. On it, she acts like a "brat," which can be superficially translated as "brat." Harris account responds to Charli XCX What the artist wants to express with this word is an attitude to life between deep emotions and shallow escapism. "Brats" then reflect on what's going on in their lives and what events have left their mark on them, but at the same time they are able to break away from it while celebrating and simply enjoy the summer. "You're like the girl who's a bit chaotic, likes to party and maybe says a few stupid things sometimes. Who feels like herself, but maybe has a breakdown sometimes. But who somehow parties through, is very honest, very blunt. A bit erratic." She concludes this explanation in a Tiktok video with the words: "But it's brat. You're brat. That's brat." And Kamala Harris is apparently just as brat, if Charli XCX is to be believed. The likely upcoming Democratic presidential candidate was happy to accept the post. She changed her cover photo to X in the colors of the "Brat" album cover, a toxic green. But that's not all. Other X-users, fans of both the pop star and Harris, took the connection between the two as an opportunity to make their own comments. "brat" hype could bring Kamala Harris votes One user took it even further and even remixed the song "Von dutch" by Charli XCX with recording snippets of Harris. A special speech by Harris also plays a role in it. Although it is years old, it still has cult status on social media: It is about coconuts. Harris once told how her mother made a cryptic comparison: "I don't know what's wrong with you young people. Do you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?" Harris then laughed as she told the anecdote and continued: "You exist in the context of everything you live in and what came before you." This strange story, together with the Charli XCX reference, should bring Harris not only laughs but also votes at the ballot box. Experts predict that the 59-year-old could be more successful than Joe Biden in winning over younger generations of voters, including through social media.