Kamala Harris roasted amid reports of her possibly launching a think tank: 'The Coconut Tree Institute'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It seems Kamala Harris is plotting her comeback, possibly via a think tank.

According to the New York Times, the former vice president—who lost her election bid last fall to Donald Trump—is feeling out her next move and she’s doing it with the help of longtime adviser Brian Nelson. The big idea on the table is supposedly launching an “institute for policy and ideas." 

Is Kamala Harris starting a think tank?

Per the New York Times article titled “Sidelined and Still Processing Her Defeat, Harris Looks for a Way Back In,” the former VP has been joking to friends that she’s “unemployed for the first time.”

But behind the scenes, she and husband Doug Emhoff are are "weighing each new opportunity with the potential political blowback in mind" before diving in. 

"One possibility: establishing an institute for policy and ideas," The Times noted. "Brian Nelson, an adviser to Ms Harris since she was California’s attorney general, has broached the idea with several universities, including Howard and Stanford. But some allies have noted that raising money for such a center could, depending on the donors, create liabilities in future races."

Unlike former presidents, former VPs don’t get cushy lifelong support packages. Outside of her public service pension, Harris might soon need to secure some fresh income—especially after burning through campaign funds in her 2024 run.

While a policy institute might offer a dignified post-VP glow-up, it’s also politically risky. Every dollar she raises and every donor she taps could be scrutinized under a microscope.

She knows it. According to the Times, Harris sees her two possible paths—governor or another White House run—as “mutually exclusive.” 

Kamala Harris roasted online over think tank whispers

Unsurprisingly, the announcement sent social media into a frenzy. Conservative pundits, political insiders, and right wing commentators all came out of the woodwork to roast the idea of a Kamala-run think tank.

Joe Jackson, communications director for Senator Cynthia Lummis, quipped on X, “I can only imagine the type of deep thinkers that will be affiliated with this venture.”

The GOP's deputy comms director Abigail Jackson threw it back to one of Harris’ most ridiculed moments, suggesting the center be called "The Coconut Tree Institute."

Doug Powers from Twitchy joked, “The Kamala Harris Center for the Unburdening of What Has Been should provide a bottomless well of material.”

Republican communicator Matt Whitlock added, “The ‘Kamala Harris Institute for Policies and Ideas’ sounds a little bit like a Babylon Bee headline. Sort of like if the Kardashians opened a think tank.”

Andrew Stiles, senior writer for the Washington Free Beacon, insisted the institute be called, "The Kamala D Harris Institute for Examining the Importance of Understanding What Needs to Be Done."

PJ Media’s Stephen Green offered, “Job 1: Finding some ideas and learning what policy is.”

Quiet moves, loud echoes

Since her November loss, Kamala Harris has mostly kept a low profile. She popped up earlier this month warning against “capitulating” to President Donald Trump’s executive power maneuvers and Zoomed into a Wisconsin Democratic event ahead of the state’s Supreme Court election.

But when she offered to show up in person, local operatives reportedly passed—fearing her presence could be a distraction.

While Harris is figuring things out, her husband Doug Emhoff has already made his next move—and it’s a lucrative one.

The former second gentleman is back in the legal world, joining Willkie Farr & Gallagher for a reported $6 million a year. It's worth noting that the same firm cut a deal with Trump that Emhoff apparently opposed behind the scenes, the New York Post reported.

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