Now she is heading towards the race for the White House. While Kamala Harris is almost guaranteed to obtain the Democratic nomination after the withdrawal of Joe Biden, a surprising symbol has become a rallying sign for the current vice-president of the United States: the coconut. Originally, in particular, a post on X (formerly Twitter) from Hawaii senator Brian Schatz. “Madam Vice President, we are ready to help,” he wrote, once the news of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal was announced, accompanying his publication with a photo showing a man – himself, apparently – climbing a coconut tree.
It is an old statement, abstruse and unusual, from the 59-year-old former prosecutor who is at the origin of the phenomenon. Last year at the White House, she was speaking about equal opportunity in education, when she concluded her speech with the following anecdote. “You think you just fell from a coconut tree” “My mother was sometimes a little strict with us and said: I don't know what's wrong with you young people. Do you think you just fell from a coconut tree? », Said the former senator, bursting out laughing.
Deemed incomprehensible and without an obvious link to the subject, the statement was mocked, becoming viral for the first time. Then President Biden's catastrophic performance during his June 27 debate with Donald Trump gave him a second life. But this time, the coconut tree has become a symbol of support for Kamala Harris, with Internet users using puns, emoticons and images of coconuts to urge the 81-year-old Democrat to step down in favor of his vice-president.
