The trees voted for the axe because the axe handle was made of wood.

The line is a modern, expanded political allegory built from an older proverb motif: an axe harms the forest using a handle made from the forest itself. Over time, especially via social media, the image was adapted into a story about groups supporting a harmful leader or policy because it appears to be “one of us” (e.g., sharing identity markers).

People can be persuaded to empower forces that will harm them when those forces present a superficial sign of belonging. The “wooden handle” stands for shared identity or affiliation that masks the real function of the axe.

When the axe came into the forest, the trees said: the handle is one of us.

The axe goes to the wood, from whence it borrowed its helve.

When the axe entered the forest, the trees said, “The handle is one of us!”