Today, I opened X to an astrology wheel of Vice President Kamala Harris’s infamous phrases. Among them: “the wheels on the bus,” “the context in which you live,” and “[hysterical laughter].” Then I scrolled down to a fluorescent kiwi-green supercut video of Harris dancing with a marching band, dancing in the rain, rained down in confetti. “I’m so Kamala,” the video reads, in black text superimposed on the green of Charli XCX’s latest album, all set to the hyperpop haze of her song “360.”
First, Drew Barrymore dubbed her “Momala,” the matriarch summoned to bring the American family back together. Now, she’s “Bratala.” But memes haven’t always been flattering to the Vice President: the cackle videos, Harris’s “do not come” advice to Guatemalan migrants, and, of course, “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” To many, they made her seem unserious and incompetent. And to others, cringe. Now, it’s like she’s caught green lightning in a bottle.