How Kamala Harris became a Coconut Queen
In a speech from last year, Kamala Harris quoted her mother with a saying about young people and a coconut palm. The clip went viral then. But in politics, the coconut-Harris meme has already found its way.
Kamala, the Coconut Warrior: As Vice President Kamala Harris prepares for her bid for the highest office, social media networks are flooded with images and jokes about her relationship to the tropical fruit.
The social media trend originated from a speech by Kamala Harris, where she quoted her mother of Indian origin with a saying about young people: "Do you think you have fallen from a coconut palm?" The passage had already gone viral after the speech in May 2023.
But since President Joe Biden announced his resignation on Sunday and proposed Harris as his successor, the Kamala-Coconut Combination has been spreading rapidly across the net. The name of the Vice President is often linked with coconut and palm tree emojis, which have become her trademarks. Her presidential candidacy for the US Democrats is often referred to as "Operation Coconut Palm."
Harris laughs it off
Harris delivered the speech with the famous coconut palm quote at the White House during an event about upward mobility for Hispanic Americans. With her mother's quote, she wanted to emphasize how influential one's origin and environment can be. About her mother, she said: "She has scolded us and then told us: 'I don't know what's wrong with you young people. Do you think you have fallen from a coconut palm?'"
At the memory of this quote, Harris burst into hearty laughter. She then added almost philosophically: "You exist in the context of everything that surrounds you and was before you." The jokes inspired by the speech on TikTok, Instagram, X & Co. are mostly harmless. For example, there's a video of a young person falling to the floor of a room from above with the comment: "Kamala, who falls from a coconut palm and into the Oval Office?"
But even in high politics, the meme has already found its way. For example, US Senator Brian Schatz from Hawaii expressed his support for her candidacy with a photo of him climbing a coconut palm. Underneath it reads: "Madam Vice President, we are ready to help." And Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who himself was considered a potential replacement candidate for Biden, justified his support for Harris with the quote: "Do you think I have fallen from a coconut palm?"
On the way to becoming a pop phenomenon
For many younger people, the 59-year-old Harris comes across better than the 81-year-old Biden - not least because of her sense of humor. "She doesn't take herself too seriously. She knows how to have fun," said 20-year-old Marianna Pecora of the left-leaning interest group Voters of Tomorrow (Voters of Tomorrow) to NBC News. Harris is therefore well on her way to becoming a pop phenomenon - which could help her in the race against Donald Trump for the White House.
Support comes to her in this process from the highest echelon of pop stars as well. According to CNN, the US singer Beyoncé granted permission to play her hit "Freedom" at Vice President Harris' campaign rallies. And British singer Charli XCX, who had a huge success with her album "Sucker," spread the phrase "Kamala is a sucker" shortly after Biden's endorsement of Harris.
For Charli XCX, a "sucker" is defined as a girl who is "a little messy, loves to party, and sometimes says dumb things" - all of which is meant positively. "Secured sucker votes," commented then the 27-year-old Democratic Congressman Maxwell Frost. Harris' campaign team quickly created a new logo in bright green color - a reference to the cover of the "Sucker" album.
In light of Joe Biden's announcement of his resignation and the subsequent proposal of Kamala Harris as his successor, the 'Kamala-Coconut Combination' has garnered significant attention online, with her name frequently mentioned alongside coconut and palm tree emojis.
As Harris prepares for her potential bid in the US Presidential Election 2024, her relationship with the tropical fruit has become a notable aspect of her public image, with the coconut-Harris meme continuing to thrive in political circles.
