Kamala Harris' coconut tree meme has resurfaced — explaining the viral quote

Vice President Kamala Harris' "coconut tree" quote continues to take over social media.

After President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and endorsed Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee on July 21, a speech made by Harris last year has resurfaced in the form of memes, which includes the line, "You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”

But why is it going viral — and what's the context?

First, some background on the Kamala Harris “coconut tree” quote that has been going viral: Back in May 2023, the vice president gave remarks for the swearing-in ceremony of commissioners for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics.

During the speech, Harris stressed the importance of not only focusing on the younger generation but being "clear about the needs needs of their parents and their grandparents and their teachers and their communities."

She continued to say that “none of us just live in a silo” and shared some words of wisdom from her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan.

“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 said with a laugh.

“You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you,” she continued.

Her “coconut tree” quote ended up becoming a meme. It most recently resurfaced after Biden announced on July 21 that he would not seek re-election this year and endorsed Harris to take his place as Democratic presidential nominee.

Coconut tree references have been popping up online, shared by Harris supporters, including some Democratic politicians.

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, shared a picture of a man climbing a coconut tree on X, along with the message, “Madam Vice President, we are ready to help.”

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis appeared to reference the meme on X on July 21, sharing a post that included the coconut and palm tree emoji, along with an American flag icon.

Anderson Clayton, Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, also joined in.

“we all fell out of the coconut tree today into a gym full of democrats!!!!” she wrote on X, sharing photos of an event with Harris.

The coconut tree meme has also inspired plenty of creativity on social media. People have been creating remixes of the resurfaced moment from her 2023 speech set to music, with some doing the viral TikTok dance to Charli XCX's song "Apple" alongside it.

Others have shared parodies of the meme on X, with several leaning on pop culture references.

One person folded the coconut tree meme into a “Sex and the City” parody — and also tied in a reference to Charli XCX's “Brat summer,” which the Harris campaign seems to be referencing with its lime green X profile banner.

“and so, the brat girl summer turned back into a joever fall. and i couldn’t help but wonder…did we all just fall out of a coconut tree?” the X user posted.

Another X user shared a still from the “Barbie” movie showing a pink White House with tropical trees in front.

“are those… coconut trees?” the X user wrote.

Another person paid tribute to Harris' "coconut tree" quote through a hypothetical conversation between "Lord of the Ring" characters Frodo and Gandalf.

A user shared a photo on X of Meryl Streep's "The Devil Wears Prada" character Miranda Priestly, tweaking an iconic line from the film and swapping in coconut tree language.

"Did you fall out of the coconut tree and smack your little head on the context of all in which you live and what came before you?" the caption on the X post reads.

Another person reimagined the famous Martin Luther King Jr. quote about the "arc of the moral universe," writing," “the arc of the coconut tree is long, but it bends towards justice."

Several bars in Washington, D.C., also hopped on the viral moment by offering Kamala Harris coconut tree drinks, reported The New York Times. A bar and nightclub called Bunker, for example, offered $5 “Piña Kamala” coconut shots all night long on July 21.

Additionally, some social media users seem to be deeming Harris’ campaign as “Operation Coconut Tree.”

The Harris campaign itself also appeared to be in on the joke. The official X page of Harris’ presidential campaign, Kamala HQ, seems to reference Harris' "coconut tree" quote in its two-word bio: “Providing context.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com