The Kamala Harris coconut tree meme, explained as best as possible

In the weeks before President Biden announced he would not seek re-election, some Democrats online rallied behind Vice President Kamala Harris to become the party’s new nominee. And their symbol became the coconut palm.

Not long after Biden announced Sunday that he was dropping out of the race, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis tweeted just three emojis: a coconut, a palm tree and an American flag. EMILYs LIST, the PAC focused on electing Democratic women, explicitly endorsed Harris in a tweet and, in a more subtle show of support, also added the tree and coconut to his username.

How did the coconut palm become the symbol of Harris’s most devoted, or at least most online, followers? It’s a story more than a year in the making.

Why are we even talking about coconut palms?

The “coconut tree” meme originated in a speech Harris gave in May 2023 at a White House event to expand opportunities for Hispanic Americans.

At one point, toward the end of her speech, Harris said the initiative’s work would focus on young people, but that it would also take into account the needs of their families, teachers and communities, “because none of us live in isolation.”

“Everything is in context,” Harris said, before launching into his now-famous anecdote.

“My mother … would give us a hard time sometimes and say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. Do you think you fell out of a coconut tree?'” Harris said, laughing. “You exist in the context of everything that you live in and what’s happened before you.”

The moment first came to serious attention in February of this year, when for a while you couldn’t open X, formerly known as Twitter, without encountering snippets or indirect references to those comments.

But the meme gained new life this summer, after President Biden’s disastrous debate performance fueled speculation that he might step down as the Democratic nominee. Harris’ supporters, known as the KHive, were waiting in the wings.

Since then, the moment has been remixed in Charli XCX’s “Von Dutch” and Britney Spears’ “Gimme More.” Democratic operatives have referred to it as being “coconut-pilled.” The meme flourished in 2028 debate fanfiction. Google searches for “coconut tree” began spiking in the U.S. in early July.

Like all of us, the coconut tree moment exists in the context of everything it inhabits and everything that came before it. That is, it’s part of a larger set of memes surrounding Kamala Harris’ political persona. Harris has been making memes longer than she’s been vice president. We Did It, Joe is probably the most famous one. But her laugh, her bus, her dance moves, and her love of Venn diagrams have all become fodder for social media.

So why did the coconut palm break through?

It’s impossible to say why any given meme — political or otherwise — is as popular as another. But all of the Harris memes embrace what critics might consider a faux pas, emphasizing the vice president’s loud laughs and sometimes awkward humor.

Former President Donald Trump, for example, called Harris “the laughing Kamala” and said her laugh made her look “crazy.”

Take another example, one that grew out of one of Harris’ favorite sayings dating back to her 2020 presidential campaign: “I can imagine what could be, without being defined by what has been.”

The RNC put together a supercut of Harris being “exculpated” and shared it on social media, arguing that it showed her to be “unoriginal, obnoxious, and wildly incompetent.” But her supporters have appropriated the line.

Another explanation is that young Democrats — who have been among the most dissatisfied with President Biden as the nominee — are also among the most online. Their desire for more choice and Harris’ meme-like presence were a perfect match.

If Washington Post Internet culture reporter Taylor Lorenz wrote: “Harris’ newfound online fame could give the Democratic Party new exposure among young people — including big-name content creators — who are hesitant to vote for Biden again because of his climate policies, support for Israel’s war in Gaza, mishandling of the ongoing pandemic and signing a bill that could ban TikTok.”

And the pressure on Biden to “pass the torch” has in some cases mobilized progressives within the party behind Harris, whom they criticized in 2020 over her criminal record.

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