During a recent campaign incident, Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance shut down a reporter who attempted to corner him with a race-baiting question regarding Vice President Kamala Harris. The Democratic presidential candidate has received criticism for seemingly emphasizing different aspects of her multi-ethnic identity depending on the audience she is speaking to.
A reporter asked Vance during a recent campaign event in Michigan, “How can [Kamala] fake her race?” Vance decisively responded, “She fakes who she is depending on the audience that she’s in front of, and that’s who she is, and that’s who she’s always been,” suggesting that Harris is not inherently faking her race per se but pandering to specific audiences for political gain.
Users on social media praised Vance for his response to the reporter’s question. “Vance is nailing these answers. Why won’t Kamala take questions like this? We know why,” the popular X account Western Lensman wrote. Another person added, “At least he’s not falling for the gotcha hot takes. Composure and class.”
Harris has recently been called out for sometimes employing a thick southern accent at certain campaign events, depending on where she is. Many have noted that the southern twang is uncharacteristic of Harris’s typical mannerisms, of someone raised in California. For example, during a recent campaign stop in Detroit, Harris what sounded like a slight southern accent that completely disappeared when she spoke hours later in Pittsburgh.
The American Tribune recently reported on Fox News Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asking press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about Harris’ change in accent. Doocy asked KJP, “Since when does the vice president have what sounds like a Southern accent?” KJP initially responded, “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” before berating Doocy for the question, which “sounds so ridiculous” and “insane.” Doocy doubled down, asking, “Is that how she talks in meetings?” which KJP also refused to answer.
Furthermore, Harris has been called out for a story she recently told about her making collard greens, a cuisine typically found in southeast and not California, where she was raised in a Jamaican-Indian household. “I have a friend who had a Christmas Party Christmas Eve every year, and she asked me to make the greens for her party every year. And I am not lying to you, that I would make so many greens, that I’d need to wash them in the bathtub. I’m telling you the truth,” Harris said.
“I slice up my garlic, but first I chop up the bacon and get all that fat going, then I put garlic, some chili peppers, and then a lot of water and a little chicken stock, and I let it go for a while before I put the greens in,” she continued. “And then, right? So, you get that going and all that flavor, and then I put the greens in for a couple hours, then I do vinegar, and then I cheat and do a little Tabasco. So that’s how I do my greens,” she concluded.
Watch Vance shut down the reporter below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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