Kamala is Brat: TikTok and the Affective Politics of Memes

In this article, we examine TikTok memes about former Vice president Kamala Harris that circulated through the digital registers of the Charli XCX-inspired “Kamala is Brat” trend. By analyzing the form, function, and affective resonance of these memes, we explore how creators interpreted and reframed Harris’s image leading up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Using a multimodal analysis, we introduce a three-layer analytic that distinguishes memetic form, communicative function, and affective character. Our findings show how creators mobilized recognizable meme templates, narrative positioning, and affective cues to recast Harris through identity-signaling and aesthetic contrast to her opponent. We also find that TikTok’s features enabled a pop culture intertextuality in which other viral trends – including the appeal of “it girl” Julia Fox, and the symbolic ambiguity of signifiers ranging from Pulp Fiction, The Matrix, and coconuts – become linked to the candidate. We argue that platform-native meme cultures on TikTok operate as mechanisms of vernacular electoral mediation, enabling creators to reinterpret candidate imagery and political narratives through the aesthetic conventions of platform culture. In doing so, this work demonstrates how participatory meme practices contribute to the symbolic construction of electoral candidates in contemporary digital media environments.