The Kamala Harris coconut tree memes, explained, as she runs for president

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Have you seen some stuff about Vice President Kamala Harris running for president and something having to do with coconut trees? And you’re very confused about that whole thing? Don’t worry. We’re here to help.

We’re betting that if you’re here, you’ve seen some jokes about coconut trees with Vice President Kamala Harris, or a bunch of coconut tree emojis when talking about her.

What’s up with that? It’s a meme and has been for some time. Let’s break the whole thing:

What’s this now about coconut trees and Kamala Harris?

You haven’t seen all these? There’s a lot more where that came from:

Where did the coconut tree quote come from?

OK so, back in May of 2023, she was giving a speech at — per the White House — the “Swearing-In Ceremony of Commissioners for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics.”

The full context from that speech:

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. 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?” (Laughs.)

You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.

And that became a meme?

Sure did: