How Operation Coconut Tree wants to see Kamala Harris go head to head with Donald Trump in November

It has been an eventful 24 hours for the US election campaign which has seen the official Joe Biden campaign change its official name to “Harris for President” - and its unofficial one to “Operation Coconut Tree”.

Now, it looks increasingly likely that vice-president Kamala Harris will become the Democrat nominee who will go head to head against Donald Trump in the US presidential election in November.

Ms Harris, who has served as Mr Biden’s vice-president since the 2020 election, has been endorsed by a string of senior Democrats, including California governor Gavin Newsom - who was himself previously tipped as a strong potential candidate.

Her campaign has now been dubbed "Operation Coconut Tree" in reference to a speech the VP made in the White House last year, which has recently gone viral on social media.

"You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?" she said, referencing a phrase used by her mother, biomedical scientist Shyamala Gopalan, who was born in India. "You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you."

Announcing his own support for Ms Harris, Colorado Governor Jared Polis posted a set of emojis of a coconut, a palm tree and the American flag, underlining the concept of the Operation Coconut Tree campaign, which has been taken up by social media users.

"Americans want to turn the page,” Mr Polis said. “We want a new generation of leaders to lead us into a future where we have more freedoms, an economy that grows the middle class, where we save people money and we address climate change.

“I am thrilled to support vice-president Harris. Kamala has a vision of hope and a future we all can believe in.”

Coconut trees aside, becoming the campaign’s official nominee gives Ms Harris one major advantage over other candidates. She can now use the funds already raised by Mr Biden’s campaign for her own - a not insignificant sum estimated at around $96m [£74m] at the beginning of July according to documents filed by the Federal Election Commission.

The pair already shared a campaign team, due to Ms Harris running as Mr Biden’s vice-presidential candidate. Anyone else would not be able to easily take over the funding from Mr Biden’s campaign.

The rules committee of the Democratic National Convention, which is tasked with the details of how and when the party will choose its next presidential nominee, will meet on Wednesday afternoon. The Democratic National Convention is due to run from August 19.

Who else could run?

The list of potential rivals is becoming shorter by the hour as more Democrats lend their names to Ms Harris’s campaign.

In addition to Mr Newsom, Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor who has also been listed as a potential rival, has put his support behind Ms Harris, as has transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, who is another possible candidate, is believed to have joined a call of Mr Harris for President staff on Sunday. She has also previously said she would not consider running if Mr Biden dropped out. After Mr Biden's announcement on Sunday, Ms Whitmer said she would do everything she can "to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump".

Any candidates who want to stand need signatures from at least 300 delegates, with no more than 50 coming from one state.

What are the risks for the Democratic party in nominating Ms Harris?

Ms Harris has already stood in a presidential campaign in 2020, but dropped out before a single vote was cast, after wrangles with both Mr Biden’s campaign and that of Bernie Sanders over issues including healthcare policies and the issue of “busing” to integrate schools.

She has also been attacked by the Republicans for her early VP responsibility for the border, earning her the nickname of “border czar” among the opposition. Her handling of a surge of immigration into the US has been criticised on all sides, compounded by confusing communications from the White House over her responsibilities.

Experts have also suggested she has missed out on some of the experiences a vice-president could have had due to the need for her to vote in tie-breaks in the Senate. She holds the record for the largest number of tie break Senate votes by a vice-president, with 33 by the end of last year.

What has the voter reaction been to Ms Harris’ nomination?

On the X page for Ms Harris’s campaign, which has been changed from @BidenHQ to @KamalaHQ, some voters raised the issue of the primary elections, which saw Mr Biden voted in.

“[A total of] 15 million Democrats voted in the primary for Joe Biden,” wrote Paul A Szypula. “Now you’re just ignoring all of that and installing Kamala Harris? So much for ‘democracy’.”

Others, however, disagreed, pointing out Ms Harris had always been on the ticket as VP for those Democrats choosing to vote for Mr Biden. “Harris was always on the ticket,” said one X user, Patty. “Every person voted for both technically. It was understood if something happened to Biden last 4 years or next 4, it was Harris.”

What has Donald Trump said?

In characteristic Donald Trump style, the former president has said he does not believe his chances will be any less against Ms Harris than they would have been against Mr Biden.

"I think she is no better than him," he said. "She could be far less competent, which is hard to believe."