Kamala Harris embraces ‘brat summer,’ ‘coconut tree’ memes to woo Gen Z

Ahead of the U.S. presidential election, Kamala Harris has been memeified online, but what does it all mean and do viral political moments really make a difference?

As U.S. President Joe Biden ended his re-election bid on Sunday and publicly endorsed Kamala Harris, some admirers of the vice-president celebrated with coconuts.

For those asking “why is everyone talking about coconuts and coconut trees?,” the origin of the Kamala Harris “coconut tree” meme may come as a disappointment. That’s because, as is the way with all great viral internet moments, the meme has long since lost its original meaning.

Regardless, the Harris campaign has embraced the virality, using the meme and other hot pop culture moments to connect with young voters online.

The now-famous coconut tree line came during Harris’ speech delivered to the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics in May last year.

While at the podium, the vice-president tried to encourage young people to focus not only on themselves, but also on uplifting their elders and larger community.

“None of us just live in a silo. Everything is in context,” Harris began, easing into a moment that would later blow up online. “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 laughed but grew more solemn and philosophical — and then said, “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”

The short moment was clipped and has since been shared online millions of times.