If you have spent any time on social media over the past few weeks, then you have probably already heard about Kamala Harris's coconut tree.
Although the Joe Biden campaign may have officially changed its name to "Harris for President", on social media the campaign to elect Ms Harris is quickly becoming known as "Operation Coconut Tree".
Soon after Mr Biden withdrew as a candidate and endorsed Ms Harris, a US senator tweeted a picture of himself climbing up a coconut tree.
Madam Vice President, we are ready to help. pic.twitter.com/y8baSx44FL
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 22, 2024
"Madam Vice President, we are ready to help," said Brian Schatz, a US Senator from Hawaii.
Others, including Colorado Governor Jared Polis, added the coconut emoiji to their endorsements and social media usernames.
Ms Harris's campaign account even subtly referenced it in their tagline.
If you are confused, then you are not alone.
Like many things that go viral on the internet, the origin of the coconut tree meme is slightly inexplicable.
But it emanates from a speech that Ms Harris gave more than a year ago, when she recounted a question her mother often posed to her to remind her that nobody exists in a silo, that there is a context to everything.
"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," she said.
In itself, her choice of phrasing was kooky and Ms Harris has become known for slightly wacky turns of phrase.
But it was her delivery that made it a truly viral moment: she paused for dramatic effect, waved her arms about and delivered her mother's wisdom like a stand-up punchline.
Then she followed it up with her trademark cackling laugh - yet another element of her persona that has led to internet memes.
In truth, the vice president comes across as a little absurdist - but that is kind of the point.
For the most part, people are not making fun of her.
Instead, she has gone viral because they find it all endearing.
In other words, they are embracing the wackiness.
It got plenty of attention at the time, but the clip has gone stratospheric on TikTok and X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, in the past few weeks - ever since Mr Biden's disastrous debate performance.
Google searches for the term "coconut tree" and other related phrases surged in the days after the debate.
Somehow, it became a focal point for those calling for Ms Harris to replace Mr Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket for president.
The clip and Ms Harris's laugh have been remixed into countless pop songs, from those by Taylor Swift to Charli XCX, the British pop star who is having her own viral success with her album "brat", which has itself spawned countless memes based on its lime-green album cover.
The Biden campaign's official account, Biden-Harris HQ, has officially rebranded to Kamala HQ with a 'brat’ theme. pic.twitter.com/xy4FhdE5h7
— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 22, 2024
Now that she is on track to clinch that nomination, Ms Harris's campaign looks set to capitalise on her popularity among the younger Gen Z demographic and the fact that she is far more digitally savvy than Mr Biden.
Just hours after Mr Biden withdrew from the race, Charli XCX tweeted that "kamala IS brat".
Ms Harris soon followed the pop star on her social media accounts and her campaign changed its header to a lime-green image in the style of "brat".
