Kamala Harris was asked if she had plans to visit the US-Mexico border on Monday but appeared to laugh at the question when posed by a reporter.
‘Do you have any plans to visit the border?’ came the question while on the tarmac in Jacksonville, Florida.
‘Not today,’ responded Harris, before laughing. ‘But I have before, and I’m sure I will again.’
Vice President Kamala Harris started laughing when asked if she would be visiting the border amid the surge in illegal immigrants entering the country
‘Not today!’ Harris said at Jacksonville Airport, before cracking up in response to the reporter’s question. ‘But I have before and I’m sure I will again.’
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to reporters prior to holding a ‘Help is Here’ tour event to tout the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act legislation
The Vice President’s response led to sharp criticism online.
‘Hey Kalama: You better get down there’, wrote one Twitter user.
What’s so funny? Does AOC now find this crises funny? ‘ added another.
‘She laughs off a lot of questions because she’s incompetent’ explained one user.
‘Translation, ‘NO’. She wasn’t asking about your vacation plans @KamalaHarris there is a crisis you are ignoring, not a joke, not funny, and people deserve real answers….’ I’m sure I will again…’, stated another furious contributor.
President Biden also said on Sunday that he will be making the trip ‘at some point’ despite previously saying he had no plans to visit.
Harris was in Florida as she promoted the passage of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
The Biden administration has come under criticism for the way it has responded to its response to the crisis, although it has refused to use that word.
‘Children presenting at our border who are fleeing violence, who are fleeing prosecution, who are fleeing terrible situations is not a crisis,’ Psaki said. ‘We feel it is our responsibility to humanely approach this circumstance and make sure they are treated, and put into conditions that are safe.’
A number of Twitter users were not impressed with the Vice President’s response
Kamala Harris was asked if she had plans to visit the US-Mexico border on Monday but appeared to laugh at the question when posed by a reporter.
Vice President Harris visited a COVID-19 vaccination clinic and held a roundtable discussion at a food bank
Thousands of migrants have crossed the border at the highest rate in some 20 years after restrictions that were brought in during the Trump presidency were rolled back.
On Monday, the Biden administration came under fire on Monday after Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar published photos of a packed migrant facility in Donna, Texas.
The photos showed many migrants locked inside of clear pens that appeared similar to the ones the Trump administration came under fire for using.
There has also been further criticism after the administration appeared to restrict media access to the detention facilities.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said that journalists will eventually be able to tour border detention facilities.
On Monday, the Biden administration came under fire on Monday after Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar published photos of a packed migrant facility in Donna, Texas.
Cuellar said they offered an insight into the ‘terrible conditions for the children’ at the border
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had said there would be organized trips for press to gain access to detention facilities; later, she walked back on those comments and refused to share images from the facilities
On Monday, Republicans Senator Ted Cruz wrote to President Joe Biden after after access was refused to both the press and fourteen other senators who visited the border.
‘The American people are beginning to understand the gravity of the situation,’ Cruz wrote.
‘But it is not enough for members of the Senate to see what is happening — the American people must see. That is why I requested that members of the media be allowed to join us. But your administration clearly and emphatically refused to offer press access.’
‘This is outrageous and hypocritical,’ said Cruz who accused Psaki of reneging on the administration’s vow of ‘transparency’.
‘Denying the press the ability to observe, film, and report on the conditions at the border is not openness or transparency — it is hiding the truth from the American people,’ added Cruz. ‘The press and the American people deserve more than denials and excuses from a podium.’
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that the disturbing images of the cramped conditions inside a migrant ‘overflow’ tent in Texas showed what the Biden administration has said all along – the border facilities are not the place for children
