You've Been Coconut-Pilled: What to Know About Kamala Harris and the Coconut Tree

And just like that, Biden is out.

To be clear, the POTUS will indeed be carrying out his usual duties as expected through the end of his term. But when it comes to vying for a second round, Biden has heeded the weeks of calls from him to step aside, thus opening up support for the beginning of a new chapter for current VP, Kamala Harris.

In recent weeks, Biden’s post-debate viability heading into the 2024 presidential election had been roundly questioned, all while Harris was repeatedly theorized as a potential path forward should the party go in another direction. Confirmation of that direction arrived this weekend, with Biden simultaneously urging other Democrats to throw their respective weight behind Harris.

Amid Biden-based speculation in recent weeks, many have also taken to resurfacing some previously memed Kamala moments, most notably an oft-referenced the catch-all "coconut tree" metaphor that's proven particularly effective in recent weeks.

Below, we take a look at how "coconut-pilled" became shorthand for newfound Harris support.

What did Harris say?

While delivering remarks at a swearing-in ceremony for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics in May 2023, Harris pointed to something she says her mother was fond of saying.

"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," Harris said at the time. "Everything is in context. 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."

What was the context?

At the time, Harris was making a larger point about the importance of "equity" in the commission’s work. This led into a personal anecdote illustrating how the "context" in which one finds themselves can’t simply be ignored. While this intended meaning hasn’t been totally lost in subsequent months of memery, alternate takes on this "coconut tree" and related matters have since emerged, ranging from post-Biden announcement expressions of support via coconut emoji to the idea of one embarking on the "coconut-pilled" path. At some point along the way, coconut creations collided with Charli XCX's Brat aesthetic.

Why does this matter right now?

It doesn’t. At least, not exactly. What’s a bit more tangible, however, is the sense that some of these coconut tree-focused jokes are expressions of support, in their own way, and that they collectively point to the possibility of renewed interest (if nothing else) among the general public. That's a far cry from where we all were not too long ago, but whether any of this leads to something worthy of that excitement remains to be seen.