Kamala Harris and the Coconut Tree, Explained

I’m sure you know, but the presidential race is kind of nuts right now. But have you seen the memes about Kamala Harris and coconut trees?

Now, I’m not going to try to break down the seemingly unending discourse about President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance, the slow trickle of defection from congressional Democrats (and George Clooney) who have publicly called on him to drop out from the race due to his age and limitations, or what this means for the November matchup against former president Donald Trump. There are countless stories all about that.

What I can do is explain why everyone is talking about coconut trees, a meme that’s evolved beyond too-online political junkies and is now making its way to normies.

Here’s everything you need to know, in this edition of TL;DR.

Give me the TL;DR.Following calls for Vice President Kamala Harris to be drafted as the Democratic presidential nominee in place of President Joe Biden, a story she often repeats on the campaign trail is going viral and turning into a goofy—yet apparently sincere—campaign to support her candidacy.

Wait, I need more. What’s the background here?On June 27, President Joe Biden debated against former president Donald Trump in a nationally televised event on CNN. This debate was noteworthy not only because it was the first-ever debate between two presidents, but because it was scheduled so far ahead of the election. Many Democrats were happy to have this early debate, reportedly believing that having voters see the candidate face off against Trump would boost his poll numbers and quell concerns about his age (81) going into the fall election season.

Yeah, literally the opposite happened. Biden had a terrible night, fumbled over his words at times, and seemed, well, very old. This kicked off a firestorm of debates on whether or not he should still be a nominee and possibly serve as the country’s president for a second term, which would conclude when he’s 86 (!).

Naturally, the question arose of who would be the nominee if Biden stepped down, and his VP, Harris, is an extremely logical choice. Regardless of what people think of her as the nominee overall, Harris is the only candidate that can legally access Biden’s campaign money, and she has the advantage of working in his administration, so she can easily run on essentially the same platform.

As all this discourse started, Harris’s stan army (yes, she has one), the KHive, began firing up their online support for their queen. Outside of the KHive, though, Harris has created a somewhat odd online reputation as being a little kooky. Her dances, her uproarious laugh, and her occasionally offbeat anecdotes in interviews have made her a favorite of memes poking fun at her—either with warmth or with a bit of mockery—and have become a kind of quasi-fandom of their own.

When it became a possibility that Harris may actually run for president, both of these groups kind of went nuts posting about her. The main meme that emerged came from an anecdote about her mother that Harris shared in a 2023 speech. In it, she conveyed the importance of thinking of yourself as part of a community rather than “in a silo.”

“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?’” she said, laughing. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”

People think the anecdote was funny and somewhat odd. It makes sense in context, but when you just say, “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree,” it’s like…what? That makes no sense. It’s silly!

As often happens online, this sentiment (coconut tree = silly) has exploded and taken on a life of its own following the renewed interest in Harris. She is now the coconut tree candidate, and people are jumping aboard to support the coconut train.

What does the internet think?Since its initial inception, memeing the coconut tree has not slowed down. Seriously, it’s been like two weeks, and it’s all I’m seeing on TikTok and Twitter.

My personal favorite, of course, is this coconut tree x Brat remix:

But here are some other good ones:

So, why should I care?Not to be hyperbolic, but I actually think this is changing Harris’s public perception—for the better.* Who doesn’t want to vote for a funny coconut tree lady? Will this make Gen Z (Pokemon) go to the polls? Could this change everything?????

*I have no actual evidence of this.

Has Harris responded to all this?No, but oh my God, I would die if she did.

What should I tell my friends about this?This is actually a great thing to share with your friends who may not be following, because then you can send them the memes (which again, are pretty funny).

Am I going to care about or remember this in two weeks?Honestly, I…hope so?