Are Kamala Harris memes of coconut trees and 'brat summer' part of her official campaign?

Kamala Harris fell out of a coconut tree and landed in brat summer.

The U.S. vice-president is expected to win the Democratic presidential nomination after getting an endorsement from  President Joe Biden on Sunday. She's also permeating the memesphere with jokes that might make you feel like you're losing your mind if you're not familiar with the context from which they came. 

Her campaign team and colleagues have latched on, using two main viral meme themes to help give their candidate a cool, in-the-know image to appeal to Gen Z voters, and to highlight Harris's relatively young age, 59, compared to Biden, 81, and Republican challenger Donald Trump, 78.

Why is Kamala Harris's campaign calling her 'brat'?

The "brat" memes originate with British pop star Charli XCX, who dropped her sixth album brat last month with a simple, bright "slime green" cover that has become iconic among fans.

Charli and her fans have declared this summer to be a "brat summer," which the singer has described roughly as being confident in spite of flaws, being the centre of attention and embracing one's individuality.

"It's very honest, it's very blunt, a little bit volatile," she explained in a TikTok video.

On Sunday, Charli XCX posted on X (formerly Twitter) that "kamala IS brat." The post has been viewed more than 33 million times and garnered 275,000 likes, and it set off a firestorm of memes.

After Biden's TikTok account changed its name to Kamala HQ, its first post was a screenshot of that tweet. Harris's social media team continued to lean in, using the brat album font on its X cover photo with "kamala hq" written over a brat-green background.

The internet went wild with its own takes on the endorsement, and people have even made T-shirts with "kamala" written in brat font.

The Harris TikTok team's next move was posting a video meme using singer Chappell Roan's pop song Femininomenon, staying on the trending pop star theme. That one might not go over so well with Roan, who said she turned down an invitation to perform at the White House and appeared to criticize the U.S. government's involvement in the Israel-Hamas war.

Some Charli XCX fans were also disappointed by the endorsement. Writer Katherine Krueger posted on X, "rip brat summer (june 7, 2024 - july 21, 2024)."

What's the deal with coconut trees?

Many of the most popular memes come from a speech Harris gave last year at a White House event about opportunities for Hispanic Americans. 

"You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?" she said, quoting something she says her mom told her as a child. She burst into a laugh before switching tone and saying solemnly, "You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you."

WATCH | Harris clips often become memes: 

Why is everyone going coconuts for Kamala?

4 months ago

Duration 3:44

If all the coconut references popping up around Kamala Harris’ presidential bid have you confused, you are not alone. CBC’s Lauren Bird breaks down where the viral meme came from and how her campaign is hoping it helps her connect with younger voters.

The clip was heavily memed in images in videos on various social media platforms, both by supporters and detractors who used it to make fun of her.

The Democratic Party has decided to own it and proliferate the Kamala-coconut connection.

On X, Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz posted a picture of himself climbing a coconut tree, with the caption, "Madam Vice President, we are ready to help," while Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed off his endorsement post with coconut emojis.

A Washington, D.C., nightclub introduced a shot called Pina Kamala. The "Kamala Harris meme coin" KAMA more than doubled in value among cryptocurrency traders Sunday.

Many viral memes circulating combine the brat and coconut themes, remixing the clip of her speech with Charli XCX songs. 

Whether all the online attention will help Harris is yet to be seen, but it has certainly drawn eyeballs to her campaign.

In her next speech, she might want to quote the opening line from Charli XCX's 360, a popular track from brat: "I went my own way and I made it/ I'm your favourite reference, baby."