I am room-temperature on Harris, but the coconut tree anecdote is a really great quote.
"My mother … 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.”
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EMILYs LIST, the PAC focused on electing Democratic women, explicitly endorsed Harris in a tweet and, in a more subtle show of support, also added the tree and the coconut to its username.
The “coconut tree” meme originates from a May 2023 speech Harris gave at a White House event for advancing opportunities for Hispanic Americans.
At one point near the end of her remarks, Harris talked about how the initiative’s work would be focused on young people, but it should also take into account the needs of their families, teachers and communities, “because none of us just live in a silo.”
But the meme tookon new life this summer, after President Biden’s disastrous debate performance fueled speculation that he might step aside as the Democratic nominee.
The RNC compiled a supercut of Harris being “unburdened” and shared it on social media, arguing that it shows she is “unoriginal, annoying, and highly incompetent.” But her supporters have taken ownership of the line.
As Washington Post internet culture reporter Taylor Lorenz wrote: “Harris’s new online prominence could help give the Democratic Party new prominence with young people — including major content creators — who are hesitant to vote for Biden again due to his climate policies, support of Israel’s war in Gaza, mishandling of the ongoing pandemic, and signing a bill that could ban TikTok.”
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