In the wake of Joe Biden’s announcement that he will no longer be seeking reelection, the rush to coronate Kamala Harris as the replacement at the top of the Democrat ticket has been swift.
Harris may be the candidate of choice for the elites in the Democratic Party, but it remains to be seen how she will fare with voters. As you may recall, Harris suspended her 2020 presidential campaign before a single vote was ever cast due to a lack of support, and the most recent polling found that just 39 percent approve of her performance as vice president compared to 51 percent who disapprove.
But it appears as though a rehabilitation tour may already be underway with her supporters leaning into the awkwardness that seems to follow Harris wherever she goes. On Monday’s show, Megyn was joined by Charles C.W. Cooke and Jim Geraghty of National Review to discuss the efforts and whether they will work.
‘kamala IS brat’
In case you hadn’t heard, 2024 is “Brat Summer” thanks to the success of pop singer Charli XCX’s popular album titled brat and apparently Harris is now the poster child of the movement. After Biden endorsed Harris for president on X, the English pop star seemingly took to the platform to do the same. “kamala IS brat,” she posted.
If you are wondering what “brat” means in this context, allow Charli XCX to explain: “You’re just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes. Who feels 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,” she said on TikTok.
The Democrat hopeful is apparently embracing the title. After the tweet, the Harris campaign’s official X account changed its banner to say “kamala hq” in a way that mimics the style of the brat album art, which features a lime green background and black lowercase type.
Following Charli XCX’s apparent endorsement, montages of Harris delivering some of her most memorable lines started popping up on social media set to songs from brat. Some have even been tinted green as an ode to the album.
The Rebrand
While all the brat talk may boost Harris’ name recognition among younger voters, it is unclear if it will move the needle in the larger rehab efforts. “These young lefties are trying to rebrand Kamala Harris’ cringe-y moments as somehow cool,” Megyn noted. “The language being used is ‘likable,’ ‘oddball,’ ‘funny,’ ‘relatable’… She’s just a goofy ‘wine aunt,’ which I’ve never heard.”
Geraghty thinks playing up Harris’ ‘cringe’ plays into Donald Trump’s hand. “If I were the Trump campaign, I would be running this in every swing state in every commercial break possible just to say, ‘Kamala Harris: She always seems slightly inebriated 2024,'” he joked. “I think maybe she is a fun person. I don’t know if that’s necessarily the preeminent quality that Americans are looking for in a commander in chief.”
No matter what the internet may say, Cooke said Harris is not a viable candidate. “She is an awful, terrible person,” he concluded. “And it’s not just that her instincts are authoritarian – although they are – it’s that she actually doesn’t believe in anything.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Cooke and Geraghty by tuning in to episode 844 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.