Kamala Harris’s advisers have carefully planned all of her public appearances since Joe Biden was pushed off the ballot and the vice president became the presumptive nominee. In most cases, that meant holding elaborately planned rallies with high-profile entertainers (in terms of popularity, not quality) doing the hefty lifting.
SEE: The DNC’s lack of confidence in Harris is obvious, but don’t let that comfort you
On Thursday, however, she was thrust into a different situation. At an appearance in Houston, Harris delivered the eulogy for the recently deceased Democratic politician Sheila Jackson Lee, and things got really weird.
At one point, Harris began to tout her own political record. She then called herself “the President,” and the room erupted in applause. Remember, this is a Burial.
Kamala Harris accidentally calls herself “the president” during the eulogy for the behind schedule Democratic congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee – which causes the crowd to freak out https://t.co/eoD5XTAQVu pic.twitter.com/vAmOOuPl09
— New York Post (@nypost) 1 August 2024
HARRIS: It was Sheila Jackson Lee whose bill made Juneteenth a federal holiday (applause). As a U.S. Senator, I was proud to co-sponsor that bill, and then as President, as Vice President – it was an honor (long applause)… to stand alongside the President, alongside the President – it was an honor to stand alongside Shelia Jackson Lee alongside our President Joe Biden as our President signed her bill into law.
To make matters even more awkward, during the tumultuous applause, the camera cuts to a wide shot of Jackson Lee’s casket. Harris starts laughing as she stumbles through the rest of her statement.
In response, many pointed to the 2002 Paul Wellstone memorial service, which turned into an anti-Republican event with cheers and boos. Times were simpler then, when the press still tried to maintain a facade of fairness. The Democrats’ decision to turn a funeral into a campaign rally turned into a real scandal. The fallout was so severe that it may have tipped the balance in Republicans’ favor, even though they were predicted to lose the election.
Although I seriously doubt that the press anything Whatever you may say about Harris’ exploit of a funeral for political purposes or the very disrespectful behavior of the crowd, it is still disturbing. Is nothing sacred anymore? Who brags about their own political record at someone else’s funeral? And who cheers that person on? To me (and probably most of you), it is just such a foreign concept.
However, the Democrats’ thirst for power knows no bounds. They will exploit any opportunity to improve their prospects, no matter how inopportune. In other words, they are playing to win in an environment where there are no consequences for anything they do. Can you blame them?
