If you think you just fell out of a coconut tree, think again. At least, that is what a 12-second soundbite from a Kamala Harris speech suggests. It’s now gone viral after the Vice President was formally endorsed as the 2024 Democratic nominee by President Joe Biden following his withdrawal on July 21.

The soundbite comes from a speech she gave in May 2023 as she swore in commissioners for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics. She discussed the need to focus on young people in connection with their wider community, as well as the importance of equity.

“If you’re giving everybody an equal amount but they’re starting out on different bases, are they really going to have the opportunity to compete and achieve?” Harris asked, according to CBS News. “It’s not just simply about financial resources; that is a very big part of it. But it’s also about: What is the culture of the environment? How are we approaching this issue in a way that we also understand we cannot support and help our young people if we … don’t also look at the context in which those young people live and are being raised?”

“None of us just live in a silo. Everything is in context,” she added. “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?’ You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”

This last part not only went viral, but also inspired countless memes and remixes on social media. Some associated Harris’ speech to Charlie XCX latest studio album Brat, while others took it as a marketing opportunity.

It is too early to tell if the virality of this meme will help Harris garner more votes from the Gen Zers, but it seems to signify that potential young voters are paying attention to the news of her candidacy. 

“Harris’s new online prominence could help give the Democratic Party new prominence with young people — including major content creators — who are hesitant to vote for Biden again due to his climate policies, support of Israel’s war in Gaza, mishandling of the ongoing pandemic, and signing a bill that could ban TikTok,” internet culture reporter Taylor Lorenz wrote for The Washington Post.

On July 22, it was announced that Harris would skip Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s joint address to Congress on July 24. Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin will oversee the event instead, Congressional aides told NBC News. This decision may be seen as a strategic move to distance herself from Biden’s support of Israel and convince young voters, who have been overwhelmingly siding with the Palestinian cause.

The Harris campaign has also been seizing her virality as an opportunity. They made a direct reference to Charlie XCX’s latest album via their account on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Talking about the virality of memes in the context of a presidential election may seem like comic relief to a very meaningful moment in American history. However, it should not be discounted as a useful political tool for candidates. After all, Donald Trump used these viral moments to his advantage and understood their significance as he campaigned for the 2016 election.

2024 presidential electionBlavity-UBlavity-U-NewsKamala Harris