Kamala Harris was asked if she had plans to visit the US-Mexico border on Monday but appeared to laugh at the question when posed by a reporter.
‘Do you have any plans to visit the border?’ came the question while on the tarmac in Jacksonville, Florida.
‘Not today,’ responded Harris, before laughing. ‘But I have before, and I’m sure I will again.’
The Vice President’s response led to sharp criticism online.
‘Hey Kalama: You better get down there’, wrote one Twitter user.
‘She laughs off a lot of questions because she’s incompetent’ said one user.
‘Translation, ‘NO’. She wasn’t asking about your vacation plans @KamalaHarris there is a crisis you are ignoring, not a joke, not funny, and people deserve real answers….’ I’m sure I will again…’, stated another furious contributor.
President Biden also said on Sunday that he will be making the trip ‘at some point’ despite previously saying he had no plans to visit.
Harris was in Florida as she promoted the passage of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
The Biden administration has come under criticism for the way it has responded to its response to the crisis, although it has refused to use that word.
‘Children presenting at our border who are fleeing violence, who are fleeing prosecution, who are fleeing terrible situations is not a crisis,’ White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. ‘We feel it is our responsibility to humanely approach this circumstance and make sure they are treated, and put into conditions that are safe.’
