Coconut-pilled & brat girl summer: Kamala Harris memes, explained

After U.S. President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, becoming the first president to do so since Lyndon Johnson in 1968, the election was completely turned on its head.

Now it will be Donald Trump as the oldest candidate in the race, as he looks likely to face Vice President Kamala Harris instead.

Harris, 59, announced that she already has the support of a majority of delegates, which all but assures her nomination at the Democratic party convention in August 2024.

But Biden's decision to step aside and Harris's entry as frontrunner unleashed a flood of memes that may leave those of us who are not terminally online feeling rather confused.

Not to worry. We're here to unveil the mystery about why your social media feeds have been overtaken by references to coconuts and Charli XCX.

Coconut-pilled

In May 2023, Harris gave a speech about advancing opportunities for Hispanics in the U.S., and why supporting students also meant supporting their family and community members.

During the speech, she referenced her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, an Indian woman from Chennai and a breast cancer researcher who immigrated to the U.S. in 1958.

"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?"

Harris continued, "You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you."

The quote gained prominence after Biden's debate with Trump, which was widely seen as a disaster for the president.

Talk emerged of Biden stepping aside to allow Harris to take the lead.

Social media users used coconut and tree emojis to signify their support for Harris, in reference to her quote.

Even some U.S. politicians got into the act while declaring their support for Harris.

pic.twitter.com/oSqOfgk3Gb

— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) July 21, 2024

While others declared themselves "coconut-pilled", which is in itself a reference to the 1999 movie "The Matrix", where main character Neo decides to take either a red or blue pill that will determine his future.

Blue pill or coconut pilled? pic.twitter.com/IzhSf5FFiF

— orijin 🥥 (@oriJ1n) July 18, 2024

Brat

Ok so now you get the coconuts. But what the heck does 'Brat' mean?

It starts with British musician Charli XCX, who released an album, titled "Brat", in June 2024.

Charli XCX, like Harris, also happens to have Indian heritage.

"Brat" quickly became one of the most popular albums of the summer, in particular the song "Apple". The fruit reference, perhaps inevitably, was combined with the existing coconut memes.

However, Charli XCX supercharged the memes with a simple Tweet, declaring "Kamala IS brat."

kamala IS brat

— Charli (@charli_xcx) July 22, 2024

This suggested that Charli XCX is saying that Harris espouses the values associated with her album, like high energy and being carefree.

It led to various remixes and mash-ups, with text done in the signature "Brat" album font.

I’m so coconut pilled https://t.co/Iu1FZR2mYI pic.twitter.com/5HDXZE0e6t

— none gender (@leftfemme) July 10, 2024

If you're still confused, don't worry too much. It's a Gen Z thing.

Top image from beeble/X and flextillerson/TikTok.