Brat discourse made its way onto Fox News thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
And the network’s conservative hosts do not get the hype—or understand the memes at all.
The memes and overall “brat” aesthetic derive from Charli XCX’s latest album, Brat. In the weeks before President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race, Charli XCX fans melded Brat‘s signature neon green hue and Harris’ infamous coconut tree quote into uber-popular memes about Harris.
Then, on the day Biden endorsed Harris to be the Democratic nominee for president, Charli XCX declared “Kamala IS brat” in a tweet.
Harris’ campaign ran with the Brat association: Its new X header photo says “kamala hq” in Brat‘s font and colors and posted Brat-themed announcements on Instagram.
The memes and Harris’ team’s usage of them have been so popular that yesterday, Fox News’ The Five—which features hosts Greg Gutfeld and Dana Perino and contributors Jessica Tarlov and Katie Pavlich—took on the discourse.
In a clip, Gutfeld said he doesn’t understand how “brat” memes help Harris. Perino said that the memes undermine Harris’ credibility.
“I don’t know how these memes actually help her because they speak to the truth that she’s an unserious person,” Gutfeld said. “Sorry to pee on your coconut parade.”
Perino said that if she wanted to become the first female president, she would “really want to be taken seriously.”
“If you’re too online and you’re just focused on the too online audience on both sides,” she said, “you’re going to lose a bunch of people who are saying ‘can we just have somebody normal?’”
Gutfeld then said “do you really want brats to run this country? They already do enough damage,” to which Tarlov replied, “you don’t understand the essence of Brat summer.”
The essence of a Brat summer is, of course, is living without a care, partying, and having a healthy amount of self-confidence.
Pavlich chimed in that she believes “white boy summer” memes from Trump’s young male fan base will exceed Brat’s cultural impact.
Meanwhile, people online found the hosts’ confusion and bewilderment hilarious.
“The funniest part of the Kamala BRAT shit is people on Fox News who have never spoken to a teenager trying to explain it to the 75 year olds watching,” an X user tweeted.
“This is so funny,” another person said. “They couldn’t make [Harris] seem cooler if they tried.”
Others said Brat being discussed on Fox News cements its icon status.
“I can’t believe that history books will be studying ‘Brat’ not just for the masterpiece that it is but for being a part of the branding for the 2024 election,” an X user tweeted. “Fox News quoting brat is unreal.”
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