It's no wonder that Kamala Harris has endured a couple awkward moments on camera,
given that all eyes are on the nation's first female vice-president elect.
Her campaign trail pretty much captured every second she spent in public, and,
because of that, the media caught some odd exchanges.
The 2020 presidential and vice-presidential debates got a lot of attention, and not always
for the best reasons. Despite there being just one debate between the vice-presidential
candidates — Kamala Harris and Mike Pence — it provided a slew of awkward moments.
The debate was moderated by USA Today's Washington bureau chief,
Susan Page, and while asking the senator a question about the coronavirus,
she forgot to address her as Senator Harris, which is a big deal at formal events like this.
"Uh, Kamala Harris. Senator Harris, I mean. I'm sorry."
"That's fine, I'm Kamala."
"You're Senator Harris to me."
A minor mistake, ultimately, but it was an awkward reminder that Senator Harris has
only been "Senator Harris" since 2017, and was relatively new to the national debate stage.
While at a campaign event in Wisconsin, Senator Harris all but avoided reporters,
even after Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes tried to give her the microphone. After speaking
at a roundtable for Black business owners, Harris told the members of the press that Wisconsin was,
quote, "part of her story" because she had lived in the state for a brief time.
But then she was rushed off stage by staffers without taking any questions.
"I will pass it back over you. I know you want to take some questions before you get out of here."
And with that, the campaign stop was awkwardly wrapped up. That's when an unmic'd Harris quickly
threw in the line about living in Wisconsin. Perhaps it was an attempt to lighten the mood,
after the awkward energy she left hanging in the air, along with Barnes' microphone.
It's never a good idea to interrupt Kamala Harris when she's speaking and addressing big issues,
and that's something that Vice President Mike Pence learned fairly quickly during the one
vice-presidential debate held in October 2020. And even though we love a moment of sticking up
for yourself, the dynamic was really awkward, and at one point, the tension bubbled over.
"Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking. I'm speaking."
While Harris was right to tell the vice president that he needed to wait his turn,
her comebacks, which were quickly turned into t-shirts, felt awkward and scripted.
"If you don't mind letting me finish, we can then have a conversation."
Pence seemed to take the hint, but the exchange created such a weird and tense dynamic on-stage
that we're confident that the few people sitting in the audience felt it.
Even though most of us were watching from home, the awkwardness was palpable.
It seems like Kamala Harris has a tendency to laugh or smile in moments of tension,
and her interview with 60 Minutes was no exception. Norah O'Donnell kept a very
level-headed, serious demeanor throughout the interview, unlike Harris, and when she
asked the candidate about her progressive policies, things started to go downhill.
O'Donnell asked if Harris would bring a "socialist or progressive perspective"
to the Biden White House. That's when Harris erupted in awkward laughter.
"No!"
Her voice cracking, Harris then went on the defensive.
"It is the perspective of a woman who grew up a Black child in America."
After mentioning her career as a prosecutor and her mother's journey as an immigrant,
Harris decided to mention her admiration for hip-hop.
"Who also, you know, likes hip-hop. Like, what do you wanna know?"
In response, O'Donnell was stone cold, which just made the encounter that much worse.
If the energy between the vice-presidential candidates wasn't awkward before the topic
of race came up during their debate, it definitely escalated when the questions
about race relations were posed. Given the protests and demonstrations held across the
United States during the summer and fall months of 2020 — many in the aftermath of the police killing
of unarmed Black man George Floyd — some cities had been exposed to violence and property damage.
So when asked about systemic racism, Vice President Mike Pence quickly pivoted and said that
the notion that the United States has a systemic racism problem is insulting to law enforcement.
Cue awkward tension here, because Pence's answer clearly did not sit well with Kamala Harris.
"I will not sit here and be lectured by the vice-president
on what it means to enforce the laws of our country."
And yes, as you likely noticed, this was after the famous fly found purchase on Pence's head,
making the whole discussion that much more awkward.
The question that everyone was asking after the vice-presidential debate
wasn't about the coronavirus, but about the fly that landed on Mike Pence's head
while he was talking systemic racism. To top it off, Kamala Harris did notice it,
and she awkwardly sat on stage with him while the fly was just hanging out.
After the debate, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow asked Harris about the strange encounter.
"We could see it at home. Could you see it sitting next to him?"
Laughing, Maddow also asked if Harris wanted to shoo it away. Harris responded to the inquiry with
more of a head nod than anything else, before attempting to pivot away from the fly talk.
"I think that it's important that we kind of find a way, all of us, to move on."
But she also had a fly-related joke ready to go ...
"Y'know, kind of, fly away from this subject."
There are moments for clapbacks, but one moment during the Democratic debate, while Kamala Harris
was still a candidate for the presidency, was really awkward. When talking about trade policy,
Harris compared Donald Trump to the man who sits behind the curtain in The Wizard of Oz.
"You know he reminds me of that guy in The Wizard of Oz, you know, when you
pull back the curtain it's a really small dude?"
The analogy was just as awkwardly received as you'd think, with the audience laughing
uncomfortably. The moderator, ABC's George Stephanopoulos, who is five-foot-five,
responded by saying "Okay," followed by a long pause and then a laugh.
"I'm not even going to take the bait, Senator Harris."
"Oh George, it wasn't about you!"
What made the moment even more cringeworthy was that other participants of the debate
were still trying to answer the question seriously, like Bernie
Sanders who held his hand up to be called on to answer throughout the entire exchange.
It seems like live debates are perfect venues for awkward moments caught on camera, and this
one takes the cake, considering recent events. Before the second Democratic presidential debate,
Kamala Harris and Joe Biden had an uncomfortable hot mic moment as they took the stage.
"Go easy on me, kid."
Harris took it as well as you might think, given that at the
time she was one of the highest ranking senators in Congress, and 54-years-old.
"How are you doing, you good?"
"I'm good."
The video of the tense exchange quickly made its way to Twitter. Ian Sams,
Harris' national press secretary, got the backlash going by tweeting "Kid" followed
by a question mark, clearly shocked at Biden's categorization of the senator.
We can't imagine what it's like to appear and engage in a nationally-televised town hall,
but since the venue seems pretty common for Kamala Harris,
it came as a surprise when one town hall went so awry.
"I think we should have that conversation."
During a town hall hosted by CNN in April 2019, Harris all but avoided answering the
questions posed to her, repeatedly deflecting by making a plea for "conversations" to happen
"I think that's an important conversation to have."
As noted by the Washington Post, Harris announced many of her major policy plans
and what executive decisions she would make as president. But the power of her answers
was completely lost in the weeds due to her lack of a response when asked about
issues like voting rights for formerly incarcerated people or the voting age.
What made the situation even more awkward was that CNN put a montage video together of all the time
she used her "conversation" dodge. Clearly the line was a pivot tactic that did not go well.
"The greatest thing about it that I am really enjoying
is it causing these conversations to happen."
Kamala Harris is going where no woman has gone before — the West Wing of the White
House as the United States' first woman vice president. That's groundbreaking,
no matter your political preferences. And like Harris, her husband, Doug Emhoff,
is occupying a place no man has before — the first second gentleman in history. But
unlike his wife who is more than comfortable in front of crowds, Emhoff seemed a little
off his game during the ticket's acceptance of the democratic nomination, and as such,
he had a brief awkward encounter with Harris that did not go unnoticed by several media outlets.
Emhoff made his way onto the stage after Harris' speech, along with Dr. Jill Biden, and joined his
wife on stage. But as he did, Emhoff was tugging on his suit jacket, and he then gave Harris a very
quick kiss before waving to the cameras. Perhaps the grand scale of the event and the spotlight led
to the little awkward encounter between the two, or maybe Emhoff was just caught up in the moment.
When Kamala Harris took to the debate stage in June 2019, she delivered one of the biggest
punches to Joe Biden, as both were still trying to snag the democratic presidential nomination.
Harris jumped in when the issue of race in the United States was brought up,
and she used her time to criticize Biden and his former work with segregationist senators.
"It's personal. And it was actually very -- it was hurtful."
Biden seemed unprepared for the questions, and from the footage of the debate, it's very clear
that Biden was caught off guard. The moment was a strong one for Harris at the time, but since
has not aged well given that she was chosen by Biden as a running mate. The heated exchange
between the two now serves as an awkward reminder about how they did not get along on the public
stage as opponents, and seems particularly weird now that they are governing together.
Again, we can point to Kamala Harris' ill-timed laugh as the culprit behind
yet another awkward moment on the campaign trail, because she laughed at a really bad
time when asked about Donald Trump's actions and behavior at a town hall in New Hampshire.
The question, posed by an audience member,
included a slur often used in reference to the intellectually disabled when describing
Donald Trump. Instead of rebuking the language used, Harris laughed.
"Well said."
Later, she said that the language used was not something that she,
quote, "really heard or processed or in any way condoned."
The incident was even discussed on the hit talk show The View during its "Hot Topics" segment.
Whoopi Goldberg argued that Harris could
have used "bone-headed" instead to describe her political opponent.
While Kamala Harris was still campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination,
she had a painfully awkward interaction on the trail. While at a town hall event in Reno,
Nevada, she posed a question to the audience: Is the country ready for her presidency?
"There's this whole conversation that has been coming up about electability
focused on our campaign."
Harris must have assumed the crowd would be friendly, since she set herself up to be heckled.
"Is America ready for that?"
"No!"
"Well, yes they are."
Harris was very clearly shocked by the exchange. The whole thing was painfully awkward.
Some took to social media and said that the moment reminded them of when
Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush asked people to clap at one of his campaign stops.
"Please clap."
Not a good look.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more List videos about the latest hot topics are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.