Kamala Harris-themed memes began to circulate online almost as swiftly as Harris announced her intention to run, “earn and win” the Democratic Party’s nomination on Sunday, many of which boosted her viral “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” story she told last year.
Harris was swearing in commissioners for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics in May of 2023 when she shared a story from her childhood.
“Part of the extension of the work you will do is, yes, focused on our young leaders and our young people, but understanding we also then have to be clear about the needs of their parents and their grandparents and their teachers and their communities, because none of us just live in a silo. Everything is in context,” Harris told the attendees.
“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?’”
“You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you,” she added. Harris then proceeded to administer the oath, and the moment was largely ignored — until video from the day began to be shared online following President Joe Biden’s debate against former President Donald Trump last month on June 27.
The story served as a popular example reinforcing the idea of Harris’ unique, sometimes awkward presence and sense of humor. It was also a nod to her mother’s Tamil ancestry. The Tamil Nadu state of India is resplendent with coconut trees, many of which are at imminent risk due to climate change.
Watch Harris tell her coconut tree story below:
The connection between Kamala and coconuts became a meme that’s skyrocketed since the idea of Harris potentially taking Biden’s place began to spread after the debate. It’s been credited with boosting Harris’ reputation among voters well before Biden made his announcement Sunday. The X account @PopulismUpdates wrote on July 11, “Election night watching Kamala Harris actually beat Donald Trump through a coconut tree-fueled meme campaign would be kind of a psychedelic experience.”
The story isn’t the only awkward moment that has endeared Harris to the chronically online. In 2020, she made waves after she shared a story about meeting her Jewish mother-in-law, Barbara Emhoff, for the first time.
“She puts my face in her hands — Barb and Mike, my father-in-law’s Mike — she puts my face in her hands, she looks at me, and she says, ‘Oh, look at you! You’re prettier than you are on television. Mike! Look at her!” she explained in part.
Harris went viral again in October 2023 when she told a group of students at the College of Charleston about her love for Venn diagrams. “So, I’ll tell you one of the things about me. So, I’m kind of a nerd on certain levels about certain things. So, here’s one reveal: I love Venn diagrams,” she said.
“I love Venn diagrams. I’m telling you, whenever I’m facing, like, a conflict and I need to sort it out, give me a Venn diagram every day of the week. Right? So, I asked my team — I said, ‘Let’s — let’s do a Venn diagram. Show me from which states are we seeing attacks on voting rights, LGBTQ rights, and reproductive health rights?’ And you would not be surprised to know there was a significant overlap. And so, that’s scary and obviously troubling.”
Watch Fox News mocking her repeated Venn diagram comments below:
