Before Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House, Herzog highlighted the gravity of the escalating violence affecting his country.
“In the last two hours, two Israelis were murdered by rocket attacks from Lebanon in the northern town of Nahariya, a beautiful seashore town in the northern part of Israel,” he told the media before the meeting, according to a White House transcript.
Herzog shared further details, describing an incident involving a teacher who protected her students: “Early in the day, a kindergarten teacher of a kindergarten of special needs — children with special needs — rescued, bravely and wisely, the toddlers in the kindergarten from a drone attack. A drone exploded in the kindergarten.”
“This is what we’re going through from Lebanon, Mr. President, and you know it all too well,” he continued. “We are fighting hard.”
But despite the severity of Herzog’s message, when he later held a media briefing after the White House meeting, Democrats interrupted with an unexpected rally.
According to the New York Post, Vice President Kamala Harris made her first return to the White House since her loss to Donald Trump in the election. Her arrival brought “[h]undreds of White House staffers” cheering and chanting “M-V-P! M-V-P!”
The “M-V-P” chants, rather than referring to “Most Valuable Player,” stood for “Madame Vice President.”
This was the scene as the runner-up in the 2024 presidential race arrived.
The cheering was so overwhelming that Herzog decided it wasn’t worth trying to continue his remarks.
“I can’t compete with it, I guess,” Herzog said.
During the impromptu pep rally on West Executive Avenue, Harris offered her characteristic, optimistic remarks.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” the newly unburdened Democratic standard-bearer said.
“Listen, we do the best work anybody could do, which is to dedicate ourselves to the people, to public service, to lifting folks up, knowing we have the power, and when we do that work, we make a difference, and you all are a part of doing that work every single day, and I am so grateful to each of you,” she continued.
“So let’s get back to work, because we still have work to get done. And I am sending all my love and thanks. Thank you, everyone.”
It might have been a minor oversight, but in some ways, it felt like a fitting end for the campaign.
As a senior Israeli official briefed the media on the critical topic of Israel’s war with Hamas — and the U.S. response to support an ally in its battle against a terrorist group — his message was overshadowed by enthusiastic applause for a candidate whose recent campaign had failed to gain traction. Instead, Harris delivered a series of cheerful yet vague statements, seemingly without coordinating the timing to avoid such a disruption.
“M-V-P,” indeed.
