Democrats are ironically declaring their support for Kamala Harris on social media

The deluge of "coconut tree" memes reveals an emerging truth: Democrats are convincing themselves that the VP can beat Trump, and Biden can't.

• With Biden's 2024 viability in doubt, some left-leaning X users are getting behind Kamala Harris.
• There's been a resurgence in Harris-centric memes, and for many, it's clearly a bit ironic.
• But it also shows that while some Democrats don't love the VP, they're desperate to dump Biden.

If you happen to be a politically engaged X user — which, to be clear, most Americans are not — you probably noticed something of a vibe shift on Tuesday.

Perhaps it was the coconut and palm tree emojis appearing in usernames. Maybe you saw someone reference their readiness to "exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you." Or it could have the declaration from some progressives, and even leftists, that they're ready to join the "KHive," the movement of online supporters wave of progressive users who ferociously defend Vice President Kamala Harris.

Joe Biden's political standing remains unclear in the wake of his disastrous debate performance, and some Democratic politicians are calling on the president to step aside. Polling has also shown that large portions of the Democratic base want someone to replace Biden.

Harris isn't necessarily a favorite for the party's more online and progressive users. Theoretically, there are lots of compelling options for Democrats if Biden were to step aside, and Harris has long been dogged by perceptions that would perform poorly herself if she were to lead the ticket.

But she may be the safest Biden alternative.

Under campaign finance law, only Harris can seamlessly inherit the hundreds of millions of dollars and nationwide campaign apparatus that Biden's team has spent months building.

Going with Harris also has the added benefit of avoiding a brokered Democratic convention, which could bring infighting and chaos to the party just months before the November election.

A CNN poll released on Tuesday also found that Harris performed better than Biden in a hypothetical match-up with Trump. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the South Carolina Democrat who helped deliver Biden the nomination in 2020, said that he would back Harris if Biden were to step aside.

Hence, an outpouring of memes not unlike the pro-Biden "Dark Brandon" memes that began surfacing in the summer of 2022, when the president was enjoying major legislative successes.

For some newly minted Harris supporters, the feeling is genuine. They've decided Biden can't win, and they're ready to enthusiastically support the vice president.

Among them is Chi Ossé, a New York City Councilor who's called on Biden to drop out and posted a sizzle reel of Harris with the caption "coconut tree summer" on Wednesday.

Others are clearly engaging in some level of irony, deciding that the best way to deal with what increasingly appears to be a desperate situation is to post through it.

In fact, many of the X users who are tweeting their support for Harris aren't exactly the vice president's biggest fans. They're certainly not actual KHive die-hards, many of whom remain committed to Biden even in the wake of the debate.

Many of the memes floating around X include the phrase "coconut tree" a reference to an often-mocked speech that Harris delivered at a White House event in May 2023.

"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?'" said Harris. "You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you."

Some have even declared themselves to be "coconut-pilled."