It started with a coconut tree. Sorry – actually it starts with the context of what came before.
If you’re an active internet denizen, you probably already know what I’m referring to: a viral clip of Vice President Kamala Harris during a speech repeating a question her mother often posed to her: “’You think Did you just fall out of the coconut tree?’
But if you’re lucky enough not to live online, this is your guide to all Kamala Harris memes. Many have been shedding for months (or longer). Now, after Biden’s disastrous debate spurred speculation he would drop out of the race, the memes are everywhere.
The coconut line is more than a year old: from a swearing-in ceremony that Harris led in May 2023 at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. But it’s also a stand-in for how the vice president is often perceived in pop culture, in mainstream media, and online: some as a punchline, some with a serious lack of power and a confusing political track record, and the closest we get to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character on HBO. I can make Vip
Call it ironic or ironic #KHive posting, feeling “orange-peeled” or “coconut-peeled” or simply “weightless” (I’ll get to that in a second). The resurgence of Harris memes is a symptom of the anger and uncertainty many Americans feel as the country and the Democratic Party navigate another crisis.
So, to guide you through this lecture, I’ve collected a few popular memes, starting with the basics.
Context of the “Coconut Tree” and what came before it
When the Vice President referred to his mother’s question about the coconut falling from the tree, he was Recounting a lesson About the importance of history. Speaking to government recruiters who will work on economic and educational equity for Hispanic Americans, he emphasized that their job is to help not only young people, but also their parents, grandparents, teachers and communities, “because none of us just live do not A silo is everything in context.”
and he continued:
“My mom would — she’d give us a hard time sometimes, and she’d tell us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you guys. Do you think you fell from a coconut tree?’
You exist in the context of all the places you live in and what came before you.”
Now, the takeaway is clear enough, something that has been said for centuries: no man is an island.
But it was her delivery that turned it into a meme: Kamala Harris with a playful voice, exaggerated hand and arm gestures and a signature laugh.
Meanwhile, social media users and right-wing accounts accused His odd behavior: “Must be drunk,” one Viral tweets Said others have used speech clips to describe being drunk or drunk (which itself is another Harris meme).
Being “unburdened of what has happened”.
During the most recent comeback of the coconut tree clip, another Harris quote started circulating: not a memorable one-off, but a catchphrase he uses over and over again.
It was a go to line During his 2020 presidential primary campaign and as Biden’s running mate in the general election: “What could have been, without the burden of what happened.”
And a thank you Republican Party Supercut Every time Harris has used the phrase in speeches, interviews and appearances, the phrase has gone viral again. ‘Four minutes without the burden of what could have been, what happened.’ It’s incredible. I had no idea he used it that much,” said one Republican operative said Since he re-shared the clip after the first presidential debate
The literal meaning of this catchphrase varies from speech to speech, but it’s often used in the context of Harris’ extended career, marking a historic first as a woman of color in elected office and carrying the weight of history, or as a call to arms to dream big and leave the past behind.
In a way, this quote contradicts Harris’ coconut tree line. as one x user Write this: “How are you supposed to exist in the context of where you live and unencumbered by everything that has come before you and happened at the same time? Looking forward to his third great release which combines these two.
“The Significance of the Passage of Time”
A speech at Incident in Louisiana In announcing millions of dollars in funding for broadband access, Harris cited a library tour and reflected on historical inequities.
“We were talking about the significance of time, weren’t we? Significance over time. When you think about it, there’s a tremendous significance over time in terms of what we have to do to lay these cables.”
He repeated the phrase a few more times, as noted extensively in one of the clips Shared onlineAnd especially by right-wing users in the last few days.
bus wheel to do Go round and round
Another video of Harris getting a little awkward was shared on social media while seeing her campaign tour bus for the first time during the 2019 Democratic presidential primaries.
As the camera pans 180 degrees around him, he walks across a lawn toward the bus as he laughs and sings “The Bus Wheels Are Turning”. key off.
The vice president is impressed
More recently, clips showing another less polished persona of Harris have also resurfaced online: one from the senators’ formal swearing-in in January 2023. Harris imitates Colorado Sen. Michael Bennett’s deep booming voice and another from 2019, when he by imitating The voice of her husband’s parents During an interview At 92n.d Street Y in New York City.
There are many more
You may remember other classic Harris deliveries — or you may be encountering them for the first time:
how is he Season a turkey
Harris’ tenure as vice president was often unremarkable, but it provided a rich vein of memes, as he could be an awkward communicator.
That’s part of what fueled his critical media coverage in his first year in office, and what led the White House to largely sideline him during the first half of the Biden presidency.
Other orange memes are rooted in the hokey nature of much modern political discourse: derived from aphorisms and pseudo-philosophical lexicons in hopes of echoing something like former President Barack Obama’s speech.
As the first female, black and South Asian vice president, Harris has always been doomed to an extraordinary amount of scrutiny and bias — and emphasized her individuality as one. “Happy Warrior” To counter some stereotypes. Joyful warriors, it seems, are sometimes fools too. Harris delivers many of these lines in a genuinely funny way, with an effect unlike that of many politicians (sometimes described as just vibration along).
However, all this talk is about KHive Peeled or Coconut Peeled, Especially from people who were skeptical or critical of the vice president just a few weeks ago This speaks of the uncertainty of the moment. A lot of people are wondering if Biden will still be the Democratic nominee come late summer. They’re memeing Harris on his way to a new celebration — without the burden of what happened.
