What’s the Kamala Harris ‘coconut tree’ meme and why is it going viral?
You think this meme just fell out of a coconut tree?
Vice President Kamala Harris’ abrupt ascension to frontrunner status for the Democratic presidential nomination has opened the floodgates to a barrage of viral clips and memes based on her bizarre riff about “falling out of the coconut tree” last year.
Liberal TikTokers have gone into overdrive creating “coconut tree” memes featuring Harris’ wildest moments — trying to turn her “weird aunt energy” into a relatable GenZ-led social campaign.?
Ironically, the coconut meme and other cringeworthy moments had been widely disseminated by Harris’ critics in a bid to mock her before President Biden dropped out of the race Sunday.
The coconut meme originates from a brief aside?in a?speech?Harris gave in May 2023 as she was swearing in commissioners for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics.
“My mother used to — she would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?’” Harris recalled before giving a trademark cackle.
Similar to how Biden’s allies attempted to reclaim the “Brandon” moniker — which has its roots in chants of “F— Joe Biden” — Harris’ acolytes are trying to transform the coconut memes into an asset.
Now that Harris has been catapulted into the fore of Democratic politics, the coconut craze is erupting once again.
In the last 24 hours, Democratic governors, senators and PACs have voiced their support for Harris while mentioning coconut trees or adding coconut emojis to their posts.
Social media meme-sters have seized on iterations of the cringey, particularly Harris’ pronounced cackle, and created thousands of edits of the viral moment.
Sen. Brian Shatz, of Hawaii, posted a photo of himself picking out coconuts from a tree with the caption, “Madam Vice President, we are ready to help.”
Following Biden’s decision to endorse Harris, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis simply posted emojis of a coconut, a palm tree, and the US flag, which he has continued to use in follow-up posts on X voicing support for his party’s frontrunner.
Illinois Gov. Pritzker also got in on the meme, using it to shut down speculation that he might be tossing in his hat to try and grab the Democratic nomination.
In response to one such tweet on Monday morning, Pritzker simply responded, “You think I just fell out of a coconut tree?”
EMILYs LIST, a PAC focused on electing Democratic women, also voiced its support for Harris and added the coconut and palm tree emojis to its username on X.
Josh Sorbe, a spokesperson for the Senate Judiciary Committee, also appeared to promote an apparent deal at a Washington DC bar promoting $5 “Pina Kamala Coconut shots” on Sunday in celebration of Kamala’s promotion to frontrunner.
Along with the coconut tree, Kamala has inexplicably found herself promoted in another set of memes after British pop star Charli xcx referred to the vice president as a “brat.”
While such a label would normally be seen as a negative, the pop star and her fandom have been using the word as a way to promote “girl bosses,” after the singer classified this summer as “brat summer” in celebration of her new studio album, “Brat.”
When Kamala became the apparent face of the Democratic party on Sunday, Charli xcx tweeted, “kamala IS brat,” receiving more than 23 million views in less than a day.
On TikTok, influencers remixed Harris’ coconut quip as well as an assortment of her other viral moments such as her chortle, brusque remarks on camera, dance moves, and more, in a bid to make her seem more hip with the youths.
Many of these videos were soundtracked with intense rap music.
“Me realizing the fact Kamala has a strong chance of winning because of a silly comment about a coconut tree and a bunch of memes that followed it,” user leiasskywalkers wrote in a gleeful video with Kesha music blaring in the background.
“Kamala is having a brat summer,” user olvsens wrote while in a post with one of those remixes.
Some users weaved in Harris’ moments into clips of pop star Taylor Swift.
Still, not everyone was going coco-nuts for Harris. One user suggested he might have to move out of the country if she wins.
“Moving out of the United States if Kamala gets elected because hell naw,” williamroy634 wrote.
Harris was part of a White House that didn’t shy away from attempting to court TikTok and other social media influencers.
During her first year as vice president, the White House invited influencer Benny Drama to parade around the executive mansion and roleplay as then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s intern.
That stunt drew widespread criticism, particularly from the right.
Harris now appears to be on a clear path to becoming the second female presidential standard bearer for a major political party in US history. Hillary Clinton was the first.
