On Sunday, President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who said she intends to “earn and win” the Democratic nomination.
Three hours later, Colorado Governor Jared Polis posted three emojis to social media, a coconut, a palm tree, and an American flag, as symbols of support for Harris. Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz posted a picture of him climbing a coconut tree. Democratic political action committee EMILYs List added the coconut and palm tree emojis to its social media name. And the Kamala Harris coconut tree piña colada made an appearance at D.C. bars.
? ? ??
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) July 21, 2024
Madam Vice President, we are ready to help. pic.twitter.com/y8baSx44FL
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 22, 2024
How did the coconut tree become Harris’s emblem? The meme stems from a speech Harris gave on May 10, 2023, at a swearing-in ceremony of commissioners for the President’s Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics.
Harris talked about the importance of understanding context and illustrated the point with something her mother used to say.
“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 said. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
The video has since made the rounds on social media but has circulated more in the past day. In remixed sound bites, which have tens of thousands of likes on TikTok, Harris’s voice overlaps with hits from Taylor Swift and Beyonce.
@merjudd i cant stop listening to this sound #kamala #kamalaharris #kamalaharris2024 #biden #taylorswift #taylorsversion #lookwhatyoumademedo #reputation #reputationtaylorsversion #reputationtv ♬ original sound – Evan
@ranvision_official #kamalaharris #youthinkyoujustfelloutofacoconuttree #remix #floptok #floptok??????? #potaxies??? #potaxiesdecorazon??? ♬ original sound – Ranvision 軟趴皮
Though Harris supporters appear to be embracing the coconut tree symbol, and the memes and TikToks that come with it, the term “coconut” is a controversial one. Cybersecurity lawyer Isvari Maranwe pointed out in a Sunday TikTok that the term has been used in a racially charged way against Indian Americans.
Creating a meme out of Harris’s words could also, ironically, sap those words of context outside of an abbreviated audio or video clip.
Though Harris has not commented on the meme, her official presidential campaign page on X references it. The page bio simply reads: “Providing context.”
Kamala Harris. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump has already weighed in on the possibility of running against Harris instead of Biden, telling CBS News on Sunday that he doesn’t think it changes the race.
“I think she is no better than him,” Trump told CBS. “She could be far less competent, which is hard to believe.”
