
Vice President Kamala Harris experienced an embarrassing moment last Friday during a visit to Puerto Rico. As she left a building, a group singing in Spanish greeted Harris. The vice president clapped as the group sang, unaware the lyrics were a protest to Biden administration policies.
Harris smiled and pointed to the group as they sang against the beating of a drum. She then joined a male aide in clapping during the song until the Goyoco community center’s executive director, Mariana Reyes, whispered something to Harris after realizing the Spanish lyrics indicated the group was protesting rather than celebrating her visit.
Harris’ clapping stopped and her smile faded after Reyes whispered to her. In an awkward moment, Harris remained on the steps of the building while the group presented their song.
Kamala claps along to people who were protesting her in Puerto Rico
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 24, 2024
Fox News reported that Harris intended to use the trip to bolster Biden’s presidential campaign — capitalizing on the dissatisfaction some expressed with former President Donald Trump’s aid allocation to the region in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017.
In 2022, President Biden visited Puerto Rico, criticized how Trump addressed the devastation the island experienced in the wake of Hurricane Maria, and said the island hadn’t “been taken very good care of.”
Flanked by Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Adrianne Todman, Harris pledged support for Puerto Ricans in the future. She shared in a statement: “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.”
Harris added, “So far, our administration has invested over $140 billion in Puerto Rico.”
Puerto Rican Gov. Pedro Pierluisi lauded Harris’ pledge of future support, stating that her statements were “a testament to the Biden-Harris commitment to the well-being of the citizens of Puerto Rico.”
However, announcing the Biden administration’s investment in Puerto Rico did not deter protestors.
The Post Millennial reported the song’s lyrics included: “The vice president is here making history. We want to know what she thinks of the colony. Long live Free Palestine and Haiti, too.”