Kamala Harris ‘coconut tree’ memes resurface as Biden drops out
“You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of everything you live in and everything that came before you.”
No, that’s not a quote from an ancient philosopher or classical author. It’s from Vice President Kamala Harris.
While rumors have been circulating in recent weeks about President Joe Biden’s ability to win the presidential election and serve a second term, and following the recent news of his withdrawal as the Democratic candidate, Harris (and also the internet-famous coconut tree) has attracted increasing interest in the political sphere, as voters see her as a possible successor to Biden on the Democratic side of the electoral list.
But what does Harris’ “coconut tree” quote mean and why has it become a meme? Here’s everything you need to know.
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What is the Kamala Harris “coconut tree” meme?
Harris uttered this now famous phrase on May 10, 2023, at his swearing-in before the President’s Advisory Commission to Advance Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics.
Harris had previously said that “everything is in context” and that her mother had always given her a hard time before she uttered that sentence.
This quote has perhaps stuck in people’s minds more than Harris’s others in her many performances, because of the absurd image of falling out of a coconut tree and her sudden tone, which changed from joking to completely serious, as she added, “You exist in the context of everything you live in and everything that came before you.”
It took nearly a year for the quote to catch on online, and its memeification came in full force after Biden’s disastrous performance in the debate against former President Donald Trump in June. Since the debate, some people online and some lawmakers began publicly urging Biden to drop out of the race, with many talking up Harris, who is already vice president, as a suitable successor.
Google searches for the term “coconut tree,” as well as related searches for the meme and other Harris quotes, began to rise around June 28, according to Google Trends data, a few days after the Biden-Trump debate and as calls for Biden to drop out of the race grew louder.
The “coconut tree” meme has appeared on social media
Regardless of whether some of these social media posts were meant to be tongue-in-cheek or whether they fully support Harris’s takeover of Biden’s spot in the presidential race, the number of memes referencing the “coconut tree” in 2024 has skyrocketed.
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