WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris has gone viral for her recent lighthearted question about a coconut tree, and now, she’s being honored with a special ice cream flavor. Progressive advocacy group MoveOn is partnering with Ben & Jerry’s co-founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, to launch a limited-edition ice cream, “Kamala’s Coconut Jubilee.” This flavor will help drive voter engagement in key battleground states ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The “Scoop the Vote” campaign kicks off Monday in Philadelphia with Cohen and Greenfield serving ice cream. The free ice cream truck will tour 20 critical swing states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada, aiming to register new voters and encourage others to cast their ballots. At each stop, limited-edition pints of the coconut-flavored ice cream, swirled with caramel and topped with red, white, and blue star sprinkles, will be raffled off.
Rahna Epting, executive director of MoveOn, told USA TODAY that the tour is focused on motivating potential voters who may not yet be engaged in the election process. “There’s a vast number of people who aren’t tuned in yet,” she said, explaining that even non-political events, like an ice cream stop, can spark political action.
As the 2024 race heats up, Harris finds herself in a tight contest with former President Donald Trump. While Harris maintains a slight national lead, recent polls indicate that several battleground states—like Wisconsin and Michigan—are close, with both candidates neck-and-neck in states such as Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. In Arizona, Trump currently leads Harris by five percentage points.
Alongside the ice cream debut, the “Scoop the Vote” initiative is also using the truck as a platform to discuss key voter concerns, such as the economy and reproductive rights. Volunteers at the stops will engage with voters directly, focusing on outreach and conversation rather than just traditional media campaigns. “We’re not going to win this election through New York Times op-eds or smart tweets,” Epting said. “We’re going to win it by talking directly to voters.”
Additional ice cream flavors created for the tour riff off viral memes surrounding Harris and references to policies. These include flavors like “Unburdened by What Has Vanilla Bean” and “Fight For Our Rights Sorbet.”
Cohen, who hand-crafted the Harris-inspired ice cream with Greenfield, expressed his desire for leadership that upholds decency and supports people of all backgrounds. “I want to get a common decency at a minimum in the White House,” he told USA TODAY. “Kamala supports people. She doesn’t try to make herself bigger by putting others down.”
The duo’s creation of the special ice cream flavor is part of a broader effort to support candidates they believe will drive positive political change. In the past, Cohen has used the same creative approach to rally support for Bernie Sanders, releasing similar flavors for the Vermont senator’s campaigns in 2016 and 2019.
The ice cream truck tour will make its rounds across critical states in the coming months, offering a sweet treat while encouraging voter participation in the run-up to the election.
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