Culture and Kamala
On the shift, and will it matter?
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Culture First
President Biden exited the presidential race just 11 weeks ago. Democrats have since found new energy, enthusiasm and money for Kamala Harris. The shift is clear and measurable.
Today I’m exploring the cultural embrace of Harris, a contrast to how President Biden has been received, and an excitement that echoes parts of the early days of Barack Obama’s candidacy.
Culture matters in many ways — it permeates our lives, and is often unavoidable for most people. It channels the human experience, offering shortcuts to what we really care about, and who we are.
Crucially, culture is much broader than politics. Many people tune out politics and do not vote; yet, few could claim to avoid all music, art, movies, TV, and online content. If a political idea or candidate takes hold in the culture, it can be more potent than excelling in traditional political venues. (Examples: JFK, Reagan, Obama, early Trump.)
A “vibe shift”?
By swiftly becoming the Democrats’ presidential nominee, Harris took true center stage for the first time. That has already centered a different style, energy and discourse. She was swiftly embraced across liberal, youth and Internet culture.
That is far from automatic.
Biden did not get that kind of love, even though he already achieved something she has not done — beat Trump. (He also embraced some of those groups’ stated values (center-left policies, student loan relief, prioritizing diversity on the Supreme Court and his ticket, etc).
The cultural excitement around Harris — her personae, attitude and even, “coolness” — has been palpable. It’s such a stark shift that the evolution itself became a kind of ‘meta’ campaign topic. Here’s how The New Yorker, a highbrow, liberal cultural arbiter, put it in a jaunty essay:
One important shift in the Presidential race is that a large chunk of the population recently decided that everything they used to dislike about Kamala Harris they now love. Favorable ratings are up. Negative views are down.
Traits that were seen as wacky or amateurish now read as cool and inspiring.
Los Angeles Times, 2021: “More than a laugh: Kamala Harris’ is a sound check for a divided country.”
Washington Post, [August 2024]: “Vice President Harris laughs at 128 beats per minute—the same tempo as some truly excellent dance songs..
If this is a very current, online phenomenon, there’s a current term for it — a vibe shift:
When cultural trends undergo a noticeable transformation; new ideas, styles, or behaviors emerge and gradually replace what was previously in vogue. Initially subtle, the change gains momentum until it becomes the prevailing norm, reflecting a broader shift in what society values and prioritizes, signaling a new direction in the collective consciousness.*
“Collective Consciousness”
For Harris, the vibe is warm. For many supporters, it became fun, joyous and cool to support her, and share material about her. You’ve probably come across examples of “Harris culture” on the news or online, even if it’s not all immediately decipherable. Examples include:
brat / brat Summer (a music reference)
Coconut memes (an inside joke about politics)
Kamala Harris laughing
Kamala Harris cooking
Some of this material is about Harris - her laugh, her relatable cooking - and some of it is about enjoying Harris herself.
This is a classic layer of intense fandom: fans love the music of The Grateful Dead or Taylor Swift, and a positive culture grows around the community experience of those superfans. Then “Deadheads” and “Swifties” become a thing, and it means more than just listening to that music.
The British pop singer charli xcx touted Harris by posting that “kamala IS brat” — cosigning Harris through the singer’s popular brat album, and its cachet with a confident, rambunctious female style — and that took on a life of its own. The cultural embrace here is not about infrastructure policy, and it’s not supposed to be.
charli’s endorsement — shared with far more attitude and impact than a formal one — was one early note in a vibe shift. A cool, young artist, whose core audience is more disaffected about politics and came of age in this MAGA era. (A 19-year-old probably doesn’t have many political memories of a time before Trump, who first ran for President when that teenager was ten.) Then came Taylor Swift, which has been discussed a lot, and Billie Eilish.
The culture also goes both ways.
The Harris Campaign is famously adapting Beyonce’s “Freedom” song as its theme music. Harris and the pop singer have had a connection dating back to her run for president in 2020, when her supporters started calling themselves the “K-Hive,” after the “beyhive,” a name for Beyoncé’s biggest fans. (This has proven symbiotic: A new version of the song reached a Billboard bestseller chart for the first time). Harris’s rallies and the DNC have featured more artists than usual, from rock-country singer Jason Isbell to rapper and dancer Megan Thee Stallion to Bon Iver. Inviting young talent into the fold is smoother for Harris than it was for Biden. There is no fear of raising an awkward age contrast, the enthusiasm seems organic, and there is often a strong link between Harris advocating for women’s rights and young women using their cultural power for the same ends. (A big topic on all on its own.)
You should see me in a crown…
The cultural embrace of this 59-year-old lifelong government official, former prosecutor and often underestimated Vice President is something to behold. It suggests our culture is more flexible than how it appears on first glance, with superficial, extreme takes often dominating Internet and political discourse. Nixon talked up a “silent majority,” maybe there’s a more nuanced majority out there.
These themes are generally helpful to Harris, because campaigns are about momentum, favorability and popularity just a much as they are about policy or televised debates. These themes do not forecast whether she will win, or overcome other barriers to her candidacy. Just 11 weeks since “the switch,” however, they do suggest something interesting about what many people want — which is different than the two choices that both parties originally offered, and more hopeful and joyous than what has been coming out of professional politics for quite a while. Whether those many people vote, of course, is an open question.
P.S. Do you think the cultural embrace of Harris will help her campaign? Have you noticed any shift? Tell me in the comments and I will read and reply to some…
*definition quoted from OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
As someone who is an expert in organization culture. I would call what is happening with the introduction of Kamala a shift in culture specifically - bringing together a diverse group of people together, that have different perspectives on policy. All of her diverse group of supporters and people campaigning with and for her all have an undying commitment to democracy. The shift I culture or I would
Say there is a paradigm shift With many people who live democracy working together as a team to include everyone and to educate the US on the truth, project 2025 and what’s stake in this election!
What I’ve noticed is a positive interest or reaction in people of different ages- her personality seems to connect. She’s the cool aunt, someone I’d go to happy hour with. Even though she’s 59 she’s into pop culture and has a youthful exuberance. I credit Joe Biden with letting her shine and not getting in her way. As a Vice President it isn’t your job to shine and you may get the last word but you don’t make the last decision. Now she’s free to bloom and it’s refreshing. Also, her campaign is well run. Charisma is as important as policy.