Vice President Kamala Harris created a stir on Friday when she seemingly called for the reduction of the US population as a means to combat climate change. However, the White House clarified that she actually meant to say "reduce pollution." The incident occurred during her speech at Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland, where she emphasized the importance of establishing a clean energy economy.
Harris stated, "When we invest in clean energy and electric vehicles and reduce population, more of our children can breathe clean air and drink clean water," prompting applause from the audience. The official White House transcript of her speech acknowledges and corrects the erroneous statement. The word "population" is crossed out, and "pollution" is added in brackets to indicate the VP's intended meaning.
The slip-up garnered attention and concern from many individuals on the right, who expressed their thoughts on Twitter. Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) tweeted, "Are you the population she wants to reduce?"
Meanwhile, “Wait, what?” Josiah Neeley, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute think tank, said of the vice president’s eyebrow raising remark.
Harris, recently identified as one of the least popular vice presidents in US history according to a poll, has a history of making perplexing statements as President Biden's second-in-command. Earlier this month, at a music festival in New Orleans, she provided a repetitive definition of the word "culture," which garnered mockery on social media. She also stumbled in defining artificial intelligence during a meeting with labor union and civil rights leaders, offering a confusing description.
Furthermore, Harris faced ridicule in April for going on a puzzling tangent during an abortion rights rally, discussing the "moment" in time the country finds itself in. The White House reportedly has concerns about Harris potentially dragging down the ticket for the upcoming 2024 election, according to Axios.