Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 election team is embracing internet memes in an attempt to boost her election campaign.
When President Joe Biden stepped down as his party’s presidential nominee on Sunday, he endorsed his vice president, which was then followed by a flurry of endorsements from leading Democrats. Harris, however, is one of the most unpopular vice presidents in U.S. history, according to recent surveys, setting her campaign up for an uphill battle. To boost her chances, Harris’s team is enlisting the help of trends, carrying on from a similar strategy used by Biden.
Here are some of the main memes the Harris campaign is using in an effort to help her win in November.
In May 2023, at a White House event about boosting opportunities for Hispanic Americans, Harris attempted to explain the role of communities in providing opportunities for the youth.
“‘Cause 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?'” she said, followed by her signature laugh. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
The remarks have been mocked by Republicans for over a year since. In recent days, however, the Harris campaign has sought to embrace it, resulting in an influx of coconut memes. The idea was even embraced by some major elected Democrats.
“Madam Vice President, we are ready to help,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) said, accompanied by an image of him climbing a coconut tree.
“You think I just fell out of a coconut tree?” Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) said in a post on X, replying to a report implying that he would run for president or vice president.
Harris supporters have taken the coconut emoji as a symbol, with many adding it to their social media profiles.
The meme may have a limited shelf life, however, as some liberals view the term “coconut” as “unbelievably offensive” and racist.
Another one of Harris’s trademarks is her love of vague phrases, perhaps the most famous being “What can be, unburdened by what has been.” She has repeated the phrase dozens of times throughout her career.
Similar to the coconut meme, the phrase was turned from mockery to embracement. It has also gained a wider use outside of politics.
Some anti-Harris figures have also embraced the meme, however, using it to mock Harris and the campaign.
Charli XCX’s album brat turned out to be a major hit, becoming a popular anthem for the summer. Some Harris fans began making edits of Harris with the album as a background, earning an endorsement from Charli herself.
“kamala IS brat,” she wrote in a post on X.
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The campaign then fully embraced the album; the “Kamala HQ” X page adopted the aesthetics of “brat” as its header, reading “kamala hq” on the signature neon green album cover.
Supporters made edits of Harris to songs on the album.