In the hours since Joe Biden announced he would be ending his bid for re-election, and then endorsed Kamala Harris as his successor in the 2024 presidential race, social media has been flooded with coconut-themed memes and emojis—in support of Biden’s current VP.
Perhaps surprisingly, it’s not just Gen Zers who are using the strange fruity symbol to throw their support behind the Vice President’s candidacy—Democrat government officials have even gotten in on the action.
“Madam Vice President, we are ready to help,” Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz wrote on X, along with a photo of himself climbing a coconut tree.
Meanwhile, when Colorado Gov. Jared Polis shared his statement endorsing Harris it was signed off with just three emojis: a coconut, a tree and an American flag.
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) July 21, 2024
But why?
So what do coconut trees have to do with Harris?
The coconut tree image stems from remarks that Harris made last May at the swearing-in ceremony of commissioners for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics.
In it, she conveyed the importance of thinking of yourself as part of a community rather than “in a silo,” before sharing an anecdote from her mother.
“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 laughed. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
On this day one year ago, Vice President Kamala Harris said, “you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” Pic.twitter.com/Vh5OTv3XlF
— Know Your Meme (@knowyourmeme) May 10, 2024
It instantly became a meme—like many previous clips of Harris dancing and laughing.
However, since she has emerged as the Democratic frontrunner, the saying has gone viral and the coconut has become a rallying cry among her supporters, also known as the KHive.
“The arc of the coconut tree is long, but it bends towards justice,” one person tweeted following Biden’s dramatic exit.
Now, young fans are even remixing the quote into various hit songs—and the pop star Kesha has given the seal of approval to the Harris makeover of her single Blow.
A note on Kamala’s ‘brat summer’
If you’ve spotted the thousands of coconut trees gracing social media feeds right now, then you’ve probably also seen memes about Kamala’s “brat summer” too.
“Kamala IS brat,” the British pop star Charli XCX posted on X just hours after Biden’s shock announcement.
She was referencing her latest hit album which has turned into a cultural phenomenon with young people declaring on TikTok and Instagram that they’re having a “brat summer”—and a significant chunk of young Democrats think Harris is about to have a brat summer too.
Charli XCX explained what it means to be a brat on TikTok in early July: “You’re just that girl who is a little messy and likes to party, and maybe says dumb things sometimes, who feels herself but then also maybe has a breakdown but parties through it. It’s very honest, it’s very blunt and a little bit volatile.”
In less than 24 hours the artist’s unlikely endorsement post has gone viral, racking up over 15.4 million views and fans are remixing Harris’ coconut tree quote to anthems off the Brat album.
Why did I stay up till 3am making a von dutch brat coconut tree edit featuring kamala harris and why can’t I stop watching it on repeat pic.twitter.com/hqcmerD1Pb
— ryan (@ryanlong03) July 3, 2024
Even Harris’ team are apparently embracing the memes.
Shortly after Biden’s shock announcement, the @BidenHQ official campaign account on X converted to @KamalaHQ—now its lime-green banner matches the “brat” album cover art and it’s not going unnoticed by young voters.
It’s official. @KamalaHarris is announcing her “brat summer.”
— Louie Dean Valencia (@BurntCitrus) July 22, 2024
I wonder who the millennial was at @KamalaHQ that had to explain to her who @charli_xcx was and what the lime green was all about. This is about to be hella fun campaign. I hope she plays “Mean girls” at her rallies. Pic.twitter.com/dYsblEjq7J