Public image of Kamala Harris explained

Kamala Harris is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th and current vice president of the United States since 2021, under President Joe Biden. Harris is also the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2024 presidential election. She previously served as a U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021 and the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017.

Office

Harris's term as vice president has seen high staff turnovers that included the departures of her chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, press secretary, deputy press secretary, communications director, and chief speechwriter.[1] Critics allege that the high rate of resignations reflects "dysfunction" and demoralization caused by Harris's "abrasive management style" and was characteristic of her tenure as California attorney general;[2] citing unnamed individuals "close to the vice president's operation", Axios reported that at least some of the turnover was due to exhaustion from a demanding transition into the new administration, as well as financial and personal considerations.[3]

Supporters

See main article: KHive.

  1. KHive
is the hashtag used by an informal online community supporting Harris. The hashtag is also a term that is always pronounced and occasionally transcribed as K-Hive, and refers to the wider online community that is not formally affiliated with her campaign or office. The community formed prior to and during her 2020 presidential campaign as an effort to defend Harris from perceived misinformation and attacks perceived as racist and sexist. The movement has been cited as an example of social media fandom or stan culture.[4] [5]

Memes

In 2024, a video clip from 2023 went viral of Harris saying "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" while swearing in the President's Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics.[6] The full context of the quote refers to a personal anecdote that was told near the end of the speech, which concerned the importance of addressing the needs of parents, grandparents, and communities as part of educational equity.[7] [8] Harris's shift in tone from light to serious, and the unusualness of the quote out of context, garnered a variety of reactions, and has since been used both derisively and as a show of support.[9] The remark subsequently became an internet meme with people using coconut and tree emojis in reference to the speech.[10] [11]

"What can be, unburdened by what has been" is another quote popularized and primarily used by Harris.[12] A supercut of Harris repeating the quote was first shared by the Republican National Committee on social media platform Twitter, on April 30, 2023, after which it became viral.[13] In 2020, Harris posted on Twitter: "When young children see someone who looks like them running for office, they see themselves and what they can be, unburdened by what has been."[14] Harris continues to use this phrase as part of her stump speech. The quote has been oft-cited as a meme also attributable to the KHive, Harris's Internet following, and used as a pejorative and subject of mockery by her opponents.[15] The quote is often used in a tongue-in-cheek manner[16] by journalists reporting on Harris' image, personality, and style. At times, Kamala Harris has been described as having a "self-help" speaking style similar to that of Oprah Winfrey.[17] The ambiguous quote is believed to have been borrowed from Eckert Tolle's The Power of Now.[18]

"We did it, Joe!" is a viral video in which Kamala Harris calls Joe Biden to congratulate him on winning the 2020 United States presidential election.[19] The quote "We did it, Joe!" became a meme, and Harris's tweet publishing the video became one of the most-ever liked posts on Twitter.[20] [21] [22] By the afternoon of November 7, the video had been liked on Twitter more than 800,000 times.[23] It would later amass 2.9 million likes, making it the 16th-most liked tweet ever as of July 2024.

Harris has also been the subject of comedic impressions, including by comedian Allison Reese, whose Harris-inspired content on TikTok has amassed millions of views.[24]

Approval rating

During her tenure, Harris has had one of the lowest approval ratings of any vice president.[25] [26] [27] According to a RealClear Politics polling average, as of August 2024, 45.5% of registered voters had a favorable opinion of Harris and 49.3% had an unfavorable opinion.[28]

Notes and References

  1. News: Cadelago . Christopher . Lippman . Daniel . Daniels . Eugene . December 4, 2021 . 'Not a healthy environment': Kamala Harris' office rife with dissent . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220624123821/https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/30/kamala-harris-office-dissent-497290 . June 24, 2022 . June 27, 2022 . Politico .
  2. News: Tomlinson . Hugh . March 17, 2022 . Fresh woe for Kamala Harris as another adviser quits . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220318063019/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fresh-woe-for-kamala-harris-as-another-adviser-quits-zssczgzlt . March 18, 2022 . March 18, 2022 . The Times.
  3. Alexi McCammond and Sarah Mucha, "Burnout, money, fear drive turnover in Harris's office " Axios (Dec. 3, 2021).
  4. Web site: Zhou . Li . July 25, 2019 . The #KHive, Kamala Harris's most devoted online supporters, explained . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201014030747/https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/7/25/20697783/khive-twitter-kamala-harris-2020-candidate-doug-hive . October 14, 2020 . August 15, 2020 . . en.
  5. Web site: Bixby . Scott . August 12, 2020 . Kamala Harris Built a 'Digital Army'—Now She Gets to Use It . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201009152431/https://www.thedailybeast.com/kamala-harris-built-a-digital-army-now-she-gets-to-use-it . October 9, 2020 . August 15, 2020 . . en.
  6. Web site: DeLetter . Emily . 'You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?' Kamala Harris meme resurfaces after Biden drops out . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240721231308/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/21/coconut-tree-meme-kamala-harris/74466581007/ . July 21, 2024 . July 22, 2024 . USA TODAY.
  7. Web site: May 10, 2023 . Remarks by Vice President Harris at Swearing-In Ceremony of Commissioners for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240707013738/https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/05/10/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-swearing-in-ceremony-of-commissioners-for-the-white-house-initiative-on-advancing-educational-equity-excellence-and-economic-opportunity-for-hispanics/ . July 7, 2024 . July 23, 2024 . The White House.
  8. Web site: Murray . Conor . Kamala Harris' 'Coconut Tree' Quote, Explained: What She Meant And Why It's Going Viral As Biden Drops Out . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240721191951/https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2024/07/21/kamala-harris-coconut-tree-quote-explained-what-she-meant-and-why-its-going-viral-as-biden-drops-out/ . July 21, 2024 . July 22, 2024 . Forbes.
  9. Web site: Paz . Christian . July 3, 2024 . Why is everyone talking about Kamala Harris and coconut trees? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240708233645/https://www.vox.com/kamala-harris/359072/kamala-harris-coconut-tree-context-unburden-meme-khive . July 8, 2024 . July 22, 2024 . Vox.
  10. News: Schapitl . Lexie . Treisman . Rachel . July 22, 2024 . The Kamala Harris coconut tree meme, explained as best we can . 22 July 2024.
  11. News: Touma . Rafqa . Cassidy . Caitlin . Cassidy . Rafqa Touma explains it to Caitlin . 22 July 2024 . What is the Kamala Harris coconut tree meme and why is everyone sharing it? . 22 July 2024 . The Guardian.
  12. Web site: 2024-07-22 . Kamala Harris, unburdened by what has been, now free to run for president . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240722231111/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/kamala-harris-joe-biden-2024-election-b2582832.html . 2024-07-22 . 2024-07-23 . The Independent . en.
  13. News: Amanda Hess . July 23, 2024 . The Triumphant Comeback of the Kamala Harris Meme . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240723165630/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/23/arts/kamala-harris-tiktok-trump.html . July 23, 2024 . July 23, 2024 . The New York Times.
  14. Web site: Singh . Rishika . 2024-07-07 . Coconuts for Kamala Harris: Why the Internet is memeing the US VP amid speculations of her candidacy . 2024-07-24 . The Indian Express.
  15. Web site: Weiss . Aditi Bharade, Amanda Goh, Joshua Nelken-Zitser, Geoff . Kamala Harris' media strategy right out the gate is young, fun, and unburdened by what has been . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240722233544/https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-memes-media-strategy-gen-z-unburdened-coconut-2024-7 . 2024-07-22 . 2024-07-23 . Business Insider . en-US.
  16. News: Browning . Kellen . Levien . Simon J. . 2024-07-03 . Here Comes the 'KHive': Buzz for Kamala Harris Grows After Biden's Debate Stumble . 2024-07-30 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
  17. Winter . Jessica . 2024-07-05 . The Kamala Harris Social-Media Blitz Did Not Just Fall Out of a Coconut Tree . 2024-07-30 . The New Yorker . en-US . 0028-792X.
  18. News: Demopoulos . Alaina . 2024-07-25 . 'So uniquely her': where did Kamala Harris's self-help speaking style come from? . 2024-07-30 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  19. 1325126733482385409 . KamalaHarris . We did it, @JoeBiden. . Kamala . Harris . November 7, 2020 . July 6, 2024 . no.
  20. News: Montgomery . Blake . 2024-07-05 . #KHive: Kamala Harris memes abound after Joe Biden's debate disaster . 2024-07-06 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  21. Web site: Clemens . Danny . 2020-12-07 . Remembering Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant: Tweets honoring icons lost are year's most-liked on Twitter . 2024-07-06 . ABC7 San Francisco . en.
  22. Web site: Pugh . Jamia . 2022-07-22 . Kamala Harris jokingly recalls how the viral "We did it Joe" meme came to be . 2024-07-08 . ABC Audio.
  23. Web site: Morin . Rebecca . 'We did it': Video shows Kamala Harris calling Joe Biden after presidential win . 2024-07-07 . USA TODAY . en-US.
  24. News: Burnett . Erin . Erin Burnett . 2024-08-03 . Meet comedian who went viral for her impression of Kamala Harris . 2024-08-04 . . . Television production . 0:22.
  25. News: Fossett . Katelyn . What's going on with Kamala's poll numbers? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131143808/https://www.politico.com/newsletters/women-rule/2021/11/12/whats-going-on-with-kamalas-poll-numbers-495086 . January 31, 2023 . January 31, 2023 . POLITICO.
  26. News: Ting . Eric . November 8, 2021 . Kamala Harris has a comically bad approval rating, poll finds . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131143807/https://www.sfgate.com/national-politics/article/Kamala-Harris-approval-rating-poll-history-Biden-16602512.php . January 31, 2023 . January 31, 2023 . SFGate.
  27. Web site: Oshin . Olafimihan . June 26, 2023 . Poll: Kamala Harris sets record low for Vice President net favorability . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230627015642/https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4069023-poll-kamala-harris-sets-record-low-for-vice-president-net-favorability/ . June 27, 2023 . June 26, 2023 . The Hill.
  28. Web site: Kamala Harris Favorable/Unfavorable Ratings Polls . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240806232508/https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/favorability/kamala-harris . August 6, 2024 . August 17, 2024 . RealClearPolling.

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