Vice President Kamala Harris has again received criticism over an exchange with Univision anchor Ilia Calderón over when she will visit the southern border. During the Thursday interview, Calderón pressed Harris, who was designated by President Joe Biden to oversee the border crisis, on how she herself has not yet made it down to the US-Mexico border to witness the migrant crisis personally.
Harris said to Calderón, "I've said I'm going to the border. And I-" reported Fox News. She was then interrupted by the anchor, asking when she is going to the border. Upon hearing Calderón's slightly delayed question, Harris remarked that she was not yet done with what she was going to say. "I'm not finished," Harris chuckled.
"I've said I'm going to the border. And also if we are going to deal with the problems at the border, we have to deal with the problems that cause people to go to the border, to flee to the border."
Kamala Harris' Bad Week
The exchange between the Vice President and the anchor of a Miami-based network occurred a day following her return from Mexico and Guatemala. During the trip, Harris spoke to the presidents of both nations regarding ways to curtail rising arrivals at the border, reported Daily Mail. However, the trip was also characterized by missteps with the press.
The first six months of Harris' time as vice president have overall gone according to her plan. She has been a consistent messenger for Biden as she learns the possibilities (and limitations) that come with being second-in-command. That smooth ride ended this week due to a series of unfavorable events, with some within her control and others not, reported CNN.
During her interview with Calderon, Harris said that her first trip as the United States Vice President was to on a foreign trip to Guatemala in order to be on the ground and be informed firsthand of the root causes why its citizens are leaving their home country.
The anchor asked if she has a date for her trip to the border in order for her to see the situation. Harris responded that she will keep her posted. The rebuke of Calderon echoed her dismissal of former Vice President Mike Pence when he attempted to interrupt her during their vice presidential debate in October 2020. She said that she is speaking when she reprimanded him with a smile prior to continuing her point.
The White House made a significant deal out of Harris' two-day trip to Central America previously this week. The VP's main goal was straightforward: To send a message to Central Americans to stop coming to the United States southern border.
Harris' scold of the Univision anchor trending on social media, where it was characterized as a "heated exchange". According to Media Research Center Latino director Jorge Bonilla, he did not have the vice president hitting Calderon with the "I'm speaking" on his bingo card.
Related Article : AOC Criticizes VP Kamala Harris for Telling Guatemalan Migrants Not To Come to the US, Tells Her Seeking Asylum Is Legal
