Kamala Harris is wooing the cynical Gen Z vote with ‘Coconut Tree’ and ‘brat’ memes

Since Harris’ announcement Sunday that she will be running for president after President Biden stepped down from the race, her campaign has decided to pull out the stops to attract Gen Z. They’ve transformed her campaign’s X (formerly Twitter) page into a Gen Z fly trap, decorated with easter eggs that younger voters will recognize, but will go over the heads of older voters. 

‘BRAT summer’

For one, her X banner—the large, vertical photo at the top of the page—is a simple “kamala hq” against a neon-green background. That directly references the cover of British pop star Charli XCX’s June album, “BRAT,” which evokes the messy, carefree, revelry of a young woman’s summer. Since the album took off, memes centered around “brat summer” have taken over the internet, peaking at new heights once Charli XCX herself declared, on Sunday, that  “kamala IS brat.” 

The post—which, as of press time, has 51 million views—generated a firestorm among young voters, who debated whether to support Harris’ progressive background or reject her based on her law enforcement history (“no, Kamala IS cop,” a disgruntled person replied).

David Hogg, a Gen Z gun control activist who survived the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, wrote on X that “The amount [Charli’s] single tweet may have just done for youth vote is not insignificant.” He later updated his followers, confirming that “Nancy Pelosi has been informed of the meaning of Brat.” 

Edits of Harris dancing, speaking, and laughing to Charli XCX’s music have exploded over TikTok since she announced her candidacy, leading younger voters to declare their allegiance to her: “she is the moment, come on now,” one commentator posted on the “kamalahq” TikTok account. Another simply said: “she’s going to win.” 

Coconut trees

Candidates have, in the past, tried to access Gen Z voters with memes—often to no avail. Gen Z and millennials are still cringing at the memory of Hillary Clinton’s infamous “Pokemon go to the polls” line from 2016, referencing the viral mobile game. Even in this cycle, Biden’s promotion of his campaign-created meme, Dark Brandon, was largely panned as cringe and even pandering to the youth vote. 

What makes this time different? Part of it is that Harris’ campaign has utilized a comedic tool long popular with Gen Z: self-deprecation. 

Rather than sticking to what makes her look good, Harris took a risk and launched on to a viral meme that made fun of her. In the now-infamous “coconut speech” from last May, Harris spoke about thinking communally, rather than individually, before sharing an anecdote from her mother. 

“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?’” Harris laughed. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”

Many people critiqued the speech and made jokes about Harris, saying she sounded “drunk” or “weird.” And, after she announced her candidacy on Sunday, the term “coconut tree” shot into relevancy, leaving her vulnerable to a fresh round of attacks. 

Instead, Harris took on the fight, naming the “kamalahq” bio “providing context,” a reference to the meme. Her supporters—nicknamed the “kHive” after Beyonce’s fan group, the “BeyHive”—followed suit, declaring themselves coconut tree supporters. 

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis tweeted a coconut, a palm tree, and an American flag emoji on Sunday to declare his support. Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, posted enthusiastically, “We all fell out of the coconut tree today into a gym full of Democrats!!!!” 

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who was considered one of Harris’ rivals for the nomination after Biden stepped down—and who could become her running mate—showed his support to Harris on Monday by asking, “You think I just fell out of a coconut tree?” 

So, will all of the meme-ry work to bring in Gen Z? Eric Dahan, the CEO and co-founder of Open Influence, a influencer marketing company, told Fortune that memes could work as a “leading weapon in politics.”

“With Americans getting a significant portion of their news from social media, memes present the perfect delivery mechanism for bite-sized packets of information and spin,”  Dahan said. 

“I think [Kamala Harris] is the only one that makes sense. She will get the votes Biden couldn’t,” Will, a Gen Z construction worker from Portland, told The Guardian. “The Democrats need a bold move and I think she’s just what we need.”