Back during the brighter days of 2024, Kamala Harris’s late-stage entry into the presidential race was marked by an expedited campaign, plenty of coconut jokes, and a distinctly Gen Z–focused social strategy. Her “KamalaHQ” accounts earned attention and praise for their meme utilization and pop culture references. Now, we know all too well the fate of Harris’s campaign, and @KamalaHQ has remained dormant since November of 2024. But this morning brought a revival. Harris hopped online to announce that the spirit of Kamala HQ will live on under new branding: “Headquarters.”
After dropping a dramatic teaser video last night (that naturally incited 2028 campaign rumors), Harris followed up with an announcement video in which she whipped out her iconic giggle to describe the mission for the platform—a Gen Z–led hub for progressive content that will live on X, TikTok, and Substack. “It’s where you can go online to get the latest on what’s going on,” she explained. “[It’s] also to meet and revisit with some of our great courageous leaders, be they elected leaders, community leaders, civic leaders, faith leaders, young leaders…stay engaged, I’ll see you out there.”
Early reactions note this move as yet another indication that our political sphere is leaning further into creator-style engagement. Thus far, the page does seem eager to throw the sort of casual online jabs native to political influencers (and our very online President of the United States). They’re currently engaged in a lovely little back-and-forth with the @GOP and “Trump War Room” X pages.
According to the page’s bio, the team couldn’t secure the @headquarters handle (they blamed Elon), so they settled on @Headquarter_67—a nod to the now omnipresent “67 meme.” Now this was definitely a choice. While the reference may be a bit on the nose for a Gen Z content hub (and they’re being lightly dragged for it), the handle was likely not Harris’s decision. According to the Headquarters team, she will have no editorial oversight over the posts. But 67 aside, they’re churning out a steady stream of informative content on day one.
The rebrand is happening in partnership with the progressive nonprofit organization People For the American Way. According to their press release, “Harris will be the Chair Emerita of Headquarters, and many of the staff behind KamalaHQ will be reuniting.” Who's to say what pop culture references and entertaining squabbles we’ll see next from the Headquarters crew, but I’ll be following.
Annabel Iwegbue is a culture editor at Cosmopolitan, where she primarily covers pop culture, lifestyle, relationships, and digital trends. She previously wrote for Harper's Bazaar, The Knockturnal, and Black Film. She's originally from Charleston, South Carolina, and is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and Cinema Studies from New York University. You can check out some of Annabel’s work here and also find her on Instagram and Twitter.
