Your Guide To All Of The Kamala Harris Memes

For better or for worse, the 2024 US presidential election is largely influenced by memes. Donald Trump took to Truth Social, his social media platform of choice, to share a badly edited photo that portrayed him and his biggest supporters as superheroes. If that wasn't bad enough, the former president also posted AI-generated images that showed Taylor Swift supporting him when she has only ever had negative things to say about Trump. Needless to say, his attempt to appeal to the younger generation utterly failed, and the AI-generated images had Swifties demanding she take legal action. On the other hand, Trump's Democratic opponent Kamala Harris' campaign has been far more successful at getting Gen Z in her corner with several on-trend memes (via Instagram).

A poll conducted by USA Today and Suffolk University following the 2024 Democratic National Convention found that voters between 18 to 34 years had a strong preference for Harris in comparison to her controversial opponent. In fact, the survey discovered that the vice president had a lead of about 43% to 48%. Even so, Annie Wu Henry, a digital political strategist, warned the BBC that the emphasis on memes wasn't wise. "Her campaign shouldn't be focused on coconuts and context and unburdened and all of that," Henry argued, referencing some of Harris' most popular memes. "It should be focused on what she can do for the American people." But even with all its positives and negatives, the VP's campaign remains entertaining nonetheless because of all the memes it has inspired.

Shortly after Kamala Harris announced her 2024 presidential bid, British singer Charli XCX took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to show her support with a reference to her chart-topping sixth album, "Brat," by writing, "Kamala IS brat." The "Boom Clap" hitmaker previously shared a TikTok explaining that "Brat" referred to a carefree girl who was full of contradictions and a bit of an emotional wreck. Although the description didn't exactly fit the vice president, her campaign embraced the on-trend branding nonetheless. 

Shortly after Charli tweeted her support, Harris' campaign account shared an Instagram photo mimicking the neon green color and font of the "Brat" album cover. They also changed their X header to match the record's stylization too. Needless to say, social media users jumped onboard with the trend and posted edits of Harris synced to the British pop star's songs. Even outlets like NBC News couldn't help but join in on the fun. Additionally, the meme also made its way to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, as speakers referenced it in their speeches and attendees donned neon green outfits.

why did I stay up till 3am making a von dutch brat coconut tree edit featuring kamala harris and why can't I stop watching it on repeat pic.twitter.com/hqcmerD1Pb

— ryan (@ryanlong03) July 3, 2024

Of course, none of this would have happened if it wasn't for Charli XCX. Speaking to Vulture, the singer clarified that her tweet was simply meant to be "something positive and lighthearted" rather than an official endorsement. Still, she asserted, "To be on the right side of democracy, the right side of women's rights, is hugely important to me." Charli continued, "I'm happy to help to prevent democracy from failing forever."

Kamala Harris undoubtedly knows how to make the best use of her time. She only had about a minute before going live on NBC's "Politics Nation," and the former prosecutor used it to describe the perfect way to dry and wet-brine a turkey since Thanksgiving was right around the corner (via X). Throughout the short clip, Kamala kept getting reminders about her upcoming interview, but she remained unbothered and explained the recipe in great detail regardless. The video became particularly popular after an X user reposted it and joked: "Kamala explaining how she's gonna cook Trump." 

How much does @KamalaHarris like to cook? She answered my husband's ? about brining a turkey about 1 min before going on @PoliticsNation from Columbia, SC (after I was on). I recorded her response 'cause I don't cook and she was speaking a foreign language. 😂 #kamalacooks pic.twitter.com/IZiQ6iOnTQ

— Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) November 26, 2019

We subsequently witnessed the VP's cooking skills live in action in a video supposedly posted by her niece, Meena Harris. Throughout the short clip, the lawyer asks her aunt to explain what she's doing, and Kamala obliges for a bit before laughing and saying, "You need to learn how to cook instead of video-taping me." Then, in August 2024, another X user posted a collage of photos displaying the Democratic candidate's unyielding yearning for desserts. 

Of course, her relatability didn't go unnoticed, as another commentator wrote wistfully, "Need someone to look at me the way Kamala Harris looks at a little sweet treat." Kamala's campaign seemingly noticed the viral tweets and soon posted a video of the politician grabbing a slice of a chocolate caramel cake from a bakery and urging a congresswoman who was accompanying her to treat herself as well.

While delivering a speech in May 2023, Kamala Harris stressed the importance of context with a funny anecdote from her childhood: "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?'" (via YouTube). She continued, "You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you." A few months later, the clip started doing the rounds on X, gaining even more traction after Harris announced her 2024 presidency bid. It even caught the eye of Senator Brian Schatz, who shared a photo of him climbing a coconut tree in support of her campaign. As always, Harris' account caught onto the trend and changed their X bio to: "Providing context."

https://t.co/7M0EcDwjLt pic.twitter.com/3srnXvFIBC

— solana ❤︎ (@brownskinthem) October 13, 2023

The coconut emoji has become somewhat of a symbol for the Democratic candidate's campaign, with her supporters adding it to their bios and/or display names on social media and frequently using it in their posts. In fact, they even invented phrases like "coconut-pilled" and dubbed her presidential bid "Operation Coconut Tree." In the past, Harris has reiterated, "What can be, unburdened by what has been," (via YouTube). And, although the politician's repetition of the phrase was initially met with annoyance from critics, it eventually became another meme that fueled her 2024 campaign.

After President Joe Biden emerged victorious in 2020, Vice President Kamala Harris called him to celebrate, emotionally expressing to her running mate, "We did it, Joe. You're going to be the next President of the United States," (via X). According to Know Your Meme, the moment went viral almost instantly and garnered over 44 million views, 3.3 million likes, and more than 760,000 reposts within the first week alone. Tons of users took to social media to recreate the iconic moment and put their own little spin on it too (via YouTube). 

We did it, @JoeBiden. pic.twitter.com/oCgeylsjB4

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 7, 2020

A few years later, the vice president appeared on "The Jennifer Hudson Show" and recalled how she learned that Biden had clinched the win during her daily workout with her beloved husband, Doug Emhoff. The 2024 presidential hopeful further acknowledged that their win only truly sunk in during the call. While that interview ended on a good note, the same cannot be said for Harris' time on "The Drew Barrymore Show," in April 2024. 

During the talk show, the "Charlie's Angels" star sat a bit close and told her, "I keep thinking in my head that we all need a mom." Barrymore continued, "I've been thinking that we really all need a tremendous hug in the world right now. But in our country, we need you to be Momala of the country." Though Barrymore's nickname for Harris totally backfired, it gave rise to more memes as social media users recreated the uncomfortable moment. 

Kamala Harris' distinctive laugh has led to the creation of several memes. An old clip, posted on X, of an evidently ecstatic Kamala repeatedly saying, "I love good news," has become a go-to reaction video for many. Likewise, another video of her singing the popular nursery rhyme "The Wheels On The Bus" while laughing uncontrollably also went viral. Likewise, social media users also edited her iconic giggles into songs where they don't quite belong and photoshopped her face onto the original artist's. People have also noticed that laughter runs in the family after discovering a video of Kamala bursting into fits of giggles with her sister, Maya Harris, during an interview. 

While some may poke fun at the former prosecutor (especially Republicans) she has made it clear that she will always stay true to who she is. During her 2024 appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show" Kamala admitted that she knew social media had a lot to say about her giggles. She reasoned, "I have my mother's laugh and I grew up around a bunch of women, in particular, who laughed from the belly." 

The presidential candidate fondly recalled how she heard their carefree laughter while they all chatted about their lives together. As a result, Kamala didn't want to be too mindful or demure about her laughter despite her high profile. She went on to share a related pearl of wisdom: "Don't be confined to other people's perception about what this looks like and how you should act."