Fox News reports that Vice President Kamala Harris just publicly praised the United States’s “alliance” with North Korea.
Harris, of course, meant to praise the United States’s alliance with South Korea. But, she managed to mix up North and South Korea.
“The United States shares a very important relationship, which is an alliance, with the Republic of North Korea, and it is an alliance that is strong and enduring,” Harris said.
The vice president did not stop and correct her mistake. It’s unclear whether she even realized what she said. Rather, she continued, “I cannot state enough that the commitment of the United States to the defense of the Republic of Korea is iron-clad and that we will do everything in our power to ensure that it has meaning in every way that the words suggest.”
Harris’s trip to Asia
Harris’s latest gaffe came during her diplomatic trip to Asia. Thursday saw Harris’s final stop on the trip, which was to the Korean Peninsula’s Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the strongly fortified zone that separates North and South Korea.
The whole point of Harris visiting the DMZ was to demonstrate the United States’s commitment to ensuring regional security. She certainly accomplished that with her presence, but this was undermined by her words.
At the time of this writing, the White House of President Joe Biden has still not commented on Harris’s mixup.
Social Media’s response
Several social media users took to Twitter to mock Harris and the Biden administration for Harris’s gaffe.
“Between this and Biden’s chaotic Taiwan rhetoric and cleanup we are sending some very mixed signals into Asia,” wrote GOP communications expert Matt Whitlock. “The only thing they’re likely clear about is that the Biden administration is a hot mess.”
Many such comments referred to the fact that this comes just after President Joe Biden made a gaffe of his own by calling for the deceased Rep. Jackie Walorski. They also referred to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre’s attempt to spin the situation by saying that Walorski was “top of mind” for Biden.
Erin Perrine, the former Trump 2020 press communications director, wrote, “It is very obvious the VP misspoke here but it leads to a serious question, will the White House admit the mistake or double down like they did yesterday when it was clear Biden messed up big time calling out for a dead member of Congress?”
“I can’t wait for @PressSec’s explanations of how South Korea was ‘top of mind’ for Harris in this moment,” Hot Air managing editor Ed Morrisey tweeted.
