Kamala Harris has been mocked for appearing to put on a French accent to speak to scientists at a COVID lab in Paris during the vice president’s visit to mend fences with France.
Harris on Tuesday visited the Institut Pasteur science lab, where Americans are working alongside Europeans to tackle COVID-19 and where her Indian-born mother researched breast cancer.
Harris spoke about her love of science, and her dismay at how politics could not be as methodological and logical as their experiments.
‘In government, we campaign with ‘The Plan,’ Harris said, with what some said was a French accent to discuss ‘the plan’.
‘Uppercase T, uppercase P, ‘The Plan!
‘And then the environment is such we’re expected to defend ‘The Plan’ even when the first time we roll it out there may be some glitches and it’s time to reevaluate and then do it again.’
Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump’s Secretary of State, said Harris was humiliating the United States.
‘The clip from Vice President Harris is more than embarrassing on the world stage,’ he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday night.
‘Our adversaries watch that and see weakness. They see people who aren’t serious, they see people who aren’t determined – precisely the opposite of what we did for four years.’
Kamala Harris on Tuesday visited the Institut Pasteur laboratory in Paris, as part of her five-day trip to try and rebuild bridges with France
Harris and Macron are seen on Wednesday at the Elysee Palace in Paris
The Quebec-educated vice president, who speaks some French, spoke on Tuesday of her love for scientific principals – but was mocked for appearing to put on a French accent
Harris began her program in Paris on Tuesday as the highest-ranking member of the Biden administration to visit France. The five-day trip is aimed at undoing some of the damage caused by a series of blunders the White House made in its dealings with the French.
Harris moved to Montreal, Canada, when she was 12 and attended a French-speaking school for several years. But her apparent efforts at a French accent stirred outrage on social media media, where she was accused of talking down to the scientists and embarrassing the country.
Republican researcher Jake Schneider tweeted the clip, saying: ‘Kamala ‘Cringe’ Harris visits a group of French scientists and speaks to them as if they’re toddlers, lamenting that people expect their elected officials to keep their promises.’
Abigail Marone, the press secretary for Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, tweeted: ‘Is she using a FRENCH ACCENT?! I love this episode of Veep.’
Becket Adams, a commentator with the Washington Examiner, joked: ‘I thought we cancelled pepe lepew.’
TV commentator Joe Concha said: ‘There really are no words anymore… #AuRevoir’
One man said: ‘OMG! I am so embarrassed! God help the USA!’
‘Wow,’ said another. ‘And she wonders why her approval rating is in the 20’s.’
Another added: ‘Why is she pandering to them? Feel bad about the sub deal? Will they be allowed to vote in our next election? Just like Joe, she’s doing her part to make the Carter Mondale years not look so bad.’
France briefly withdrew its ambassador to the U.S. in September after the Biden administration struck a secret deal with Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines, blindsiding France.
As a result of the U.S. deal, Australia canceled its own $65 billion contract to buy French-made submarines.
Her visit is seen as a bid to rebuild bridges.
On Wednesday evening, she met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace for nearly two hours.
Harris and Macron held talks for around two hours, which their aides described as constructive
Both leaders told reporters that they agreed it was the ‘the beginning of a new era’ that required working together.
Harris and Macron were also expected to discuss global health, space and other issues.
Harris is set to deliver a Thursday speech at the annual Paris Peace Forum and attend Veterans’ Day ceremonies. On Friday she is expected to participate in the Paris Conference on Libya.
The latest gaff comes as Harris’ team is trying to revive her poor poll numbers.
The former California senator’s unpopularity has reached a historic level, with only 28 per cent thinking she is doing a good job.
Biden’s approval rating hit yet another a new low, this time at 38 per cent, according to the USA Today/Suffolk poll, out on November 8.
A 51 per cent majority of respondents said they disapprove of the job Harris is doing as vice president.
At this early stage of a modern presidency, Harris’ numbers in the USA Today/Suffolk poll are unprecedented.
The closest comparison — which involves slightly different methodology and margins of error — would be former Vice President Dick Cheney, the most unpopular US vice president in polling history.
He bottomed out at 30 per cent in Gallup’s tracking survey, but that wasn’t until the end of former President George W. Bush’s second term in 2007.
And her Paris lab gaffe came after she was widely mocked last month for hiring paid child actors to take part in her Space Week video.
The ‘Get Curious with Vice President Harris’ video was filmed in August and tweeted out by the Vice President on October 7 to celebrate World Space Week.
It appeared to viewers that the children she was with were all normal kids.
However it has now been revealed that they are paid actors who auditioned by sending in a monologue and three questions they would ask a world leader.
Critics of Harris have leapt on the video, with the mockery compounded by the revelation that it was produced by Canadian company named ‘Sinking Ship Entertainment’.
The video was shot at the Naval Observatory, Harris’ residence, from August 11 to August 13.
During that time the Taliban were making rapid advances across Afghanistan and were closing in on Kabul during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal.
A NASA video featuring Vice President Kamala Harris included child actors
After the name of the production company was revealed by the Washington Examiner, many were quick to poke fun at the vice president.
‘This just keeps getting better,’ former Trump 2020 communications director Tim Murtaugh, posted on Twitter.
‘The company producing Kamala Harris’ video featuring professional child actors, which is called *Sinking Ship Entertainment’…is based in Canada.’
Christopher Cadelago, a reporter for Politico who covers the White House and Harris, wrote: ‘Not the point, but an unfortunate name to throw around politicians.’
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