When Vice President Kamala Harris was sent to Poland as America’s show of support to Eastern Europe, the results should have been predictable. Harris stumbled through a press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda and delivered a number of banal talking points without looking particularly impressive. The highlight came when Harris burst into laughter at a very inopportune moment following a question about Ukrainian refugees.
Harris laughs at the wrong time
The laughter was apparently prompted by confusion between Duda and Harris about who was going to respond to the question first.
Critics immediately pointed out that her reactions during such a serious crisis did nothing to inspire confidence in the United States abroad.
Poland has taken in more than a million refugees from Ukraine and is struggling to support them all; along with its neighbors, Poland is expected to receive millions of refugees if the fighting continues.
Harris has had underwhelming performances in response to crises before, but the world is paying especially close attention to what American leaders are doing right now.
A former spokeswoman for Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky responded to a video of the press conference on Twitter by saying ““It would be a tragedy if this woman won the presidency.”
That’s coming from someone who worked for the comedian president, so the standards were already low in terms of dignified behavior in a potential leader.
.@VP Harris awkwardly starts laughing when asked about the Ukrainian refugee crisis pic.twitter.com/SIHhiLbK6X
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) March 10, 2022
Not a serious vice president
Fortunately for the world, our vice president isn’t likely to climb any higher than her current position. Her approval ratings have consistently been even lower than Biden’s.
Zelensky’s former subordinate quickly deleted the post, but she was undoubtedly saying what most international observers must be thinking when they see Harris speak about foreign affairs.
Harris has also attempted to explain the conflict in Ukraine as something that is primarily concerning because Russia is a large country invading a smaller country.
The war in Ukraine has old and complicated roots; regardless of the legitimacy of his justifications, Vladimir Putin gave Russians a detailed explanation of his view of this history (most of which they already knew) to convince them that this war is in their interest.
Kamala Harris is even less capable of explaining the animosity between Russia and Ukraine than Biden is. Americans need to have a serious understanding of this war if they are to play a role in it.
This administration isn’t doing anything to encourage that, and with its infantile statements and hypocritical remarks, it is probably only making people less informed or inclined to think critically about the situation.
