Vice President Kamala Harris was caught unknowingly clapping along to a song being sung in protest of her visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Friday.
The video of the incident shows a group of protesters outside, in front of a row of cameras, beating drums and tambourines while a man is singing along to the music. The scene took place right outside of the Goyoco Community Center that Harris was visiting.
When Harris steps outside of the center, she appears to be smiling and then begins to clap along to the beat of the drum, until the executive director of the center, Mariana Reyes, whispers something in Harris’ ear and she stops clapping.
Kamala Harris claps along to a song protesting her presence.
That’s either a demented level of mockery (not impossible) or, more likely, it just didn’t occur to her to have a Spanish-speaking aide at her side during a visit to her Spanish-speaking colony—which is its own insult. https://t.co/BnBMTuvNGq
— Alberto Medina (@AlbertoMedinaPR) March 22, 2024
According to the New York Post, the man was singing, “We want to know, Kamala, what did you come here for? We want to know. The vice president is here making history. We want to know what she thinks of the colony…Long live Free Palestine and Haiti, too.”
Newsweek reported that Harris made a five-hour visit to Puerto Rico to highlight “the federal aid the U.S. territory has received to support its recovery and renewal efforts following deadly hurricanes, earthquakes, and the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Before the protesters played their music outside of the community center, Harris had given a speech at a local residence accompanied by Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Adrianne Todman, and Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi.
“What we all need to do then is just supply the community and the talent here with the capacity and the resources…President Joe Biden and I have been very intentional about what we are doing for the leaders and the people and the families of Puerto Rico. So far, our administration has invested over $140 billion in Puerto Rico,” Harris said.
This event comes just days after President Joe Biden launched a new campaign targeting Latino voters as the November elections grow nearer. People living on the island cannot vote in the general election, but Harris and Biden are still trying to show support for a group of voters who are turning more Republican.
