Kamala Harris has become famous for her ability to talk herself in circles while speaking in public. While that tendency could have been dismissed early on as the vice president just having a bad day, her abject vapidness has become a staple of her tenure in the Biden administration.
In just the last few months, we’ve seen her go to Europe to announce that Vladimir Putin had decided to invade Ukraine, before then asserting just seconds later that the administration’s sanctions regime would deter the Russian leader from invading Ukraine. We’ve seen her brain break when asked about Pell Grants, as she struggled to dance around an issue she knew nothing about. And just in case someone wants a few more examples, feel free to click here, here, and here.
One of the vice president’s hallmarks in all these instances is the repetition of words. It’s as if Harris is a high school student giving a book report she didn’t study for and is trying to fill space. That happened again on Friday, as the White House hosted the ASEAN summit. And while the transcript is bad enough, take a minute and actually watch the video until the end because it’s so much worse.
In a 22-second span, Harris used the word “work” five different times to describe nations working together, never advancing her thought, even moving to synonyms like “galvanize” to again say the same thing she’d already said multiple times. Never have so many words led to so little substance, and to listen to her is to participate in an act of self-torture. It’s enough to make Joe Biden, perhaps the most senile man to ever serve in the presidency, green with envy at Harris’ ability to say everything and absolutely nothing at the same time.
How is this person the vice president? It’s truly astonishing that someone so unimpressive and so incapable managed to make it this far. Did the people of California who elected her to Attorney General just not notice? Or is this a new thing that’s only cropped up in her latest instance of failing up?
What I do know is that Harris is deeply unlikable, and the fact that she comes across as so incredibly inauthentic every time she speaks is a big part of that. Also, recognize that this latest example came after she hired a new speechwriter. Yet, Harris sounds exactly like she did prior, which tells you exactly what the problem is. I find it hard to believe her staffers are writing down these words salads. Rather, I think she tosses them herself on the spot.
As to why there never seems to be any correction, Harris has always struck me as the type of person who can’t take criticism. I’d guess her staffers are terrified to tell her how ridiculous she sounds. And why wouldn’t they be? The vice president has had an incredible amount of staff turnover. There’s obviously a reason for that, and it starts at the top.