Some people have perfected the art of appearing busy to dodge social interactions without drawing suspicion. Unfortunately, Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is not among them.
After weeks of restricting her public remarks to carefully scripted settings, Harris tried a new tactic on Monday. But her attempt was far from convincing.
In a video posted on the social media platform X by C-SPAN comms director Howard Mortman, the vice president is seen exiting her vehicle with a phone in hand and wearing earpieces. She briefly waves to reporters before quickly boarding a plane to Michigan.
Kamala Harris departs Joint Base Andrews, headed to Detroit, Michigan pic.twitter.com/QQY9UiXlQL
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) September 2, 2024
Whether or not this act was intentional, there’s no denying that headphones are an effective way to avoid hearing reporters’ questions.
As she stepped out of her car, Harris briefly raised her hand in what appeared to be a salute to the man in uniform who greeted her. After exchanging pleasantries, she continued with one hand on her earpiece, as if listening to something—a seemingly perfect ploy to dodge questions.
If Harris was indeed pretending to be on the phone to avoid reporters, her performance wasn’t very convincing.
“Wow. She’s pretending to be on the phone … It’s an avoidance tactic,” one user on X commented.
Wow. She’s pretending to be on the phone. 📞 . It’s an avoidance tactic. @mirandadevine
— joe miller (@joemill37087868) September 2, 2024
“‘Remember to pretend to be on the phone to avoid talking to anyone, and keep it moving,’” joked another user.
“Remember to pretend to be on the phone as to avoid talking to anyone, and keep it moving”
— Tubbs (@Pigtails5a) September 2, 2024
Speaking of jokes, another user predicted the kind of softball questions she might have received from the mainstream media. “We’ll never know what kind of ice cream she fancies,” the user quipped.
We’ll never know what kind of ice cream she fancies
— Valerius Ander (MM) – Omnologos (@omnologos) September 2, 2024
This incident followed Harris’s much-hyped interview with CNN’s Dana Bash last week, which did not go well. That interview came after weeks of Harris avoiding unscripted public appearances and relying heavily on teleprompters.
In fact, her campaign team seems determined to keep her out of the spotlight as much as possible. The earpiece incident wouldn’t have made headlines if it didn’t fit into a larger pattern.
Now it’s up to the voters to recognize this pattern and reject the deceptive Democratic candidate at the polls on Nov. 5.
