Less than a day after President Joe Biden asked where a Congresswoman who is dead was, Vice President Kamala Harris declared the United States has a “strong” alliance with the wrong country.
During a trip to the Demilitarized Zone on Thursday, Harris meant to tout the United States’ relationship with South Korea — but something went wrong.
“The United States shares a very important relationship, which is an alliance with the Republic of North Korea,”
She added, “And it is an alliance that is strong and enduring.”
Watch the video below:
KAMALA HARRIS: "The United States shares a very important relationship, which is an alliance with the Republic of North Korea." pic.twitter.com/H2dI5UYOlo
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 29, 2022
The official name of South Korea is the Republic of Korea.
And the official name of North Korea is The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
It is a smaller flub, but it, unfortunately, comes less than a day after a disturbing gaffe from the president.
During the White House’s Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health on Wednesday, Biden asked, “Representative Jackie, are you here? Where’s Jackie?
“She must not be here,” he added.
“Where’s Jackie?” Biden asks, referring to Rep. Jackie Walorski, who died in a car accident in August.
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) September 28, 2022
The WH was going to play a tribute video to her during this event. pic.twitter.com/FXZKmqEBW0
Observers quickly presumed he was referring to the late Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), who died in a car crash in August. They pointed to a statement from Biden after her death that stated she had been involved in planning for the conference.
And while it was possible the president was looking for another Congresswoman with the first name of Jackie — since he did not say the last name — White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed he was referring to Walorski.
“He had already planned to welcome the Congresswoman’s family to the White House on Friday,” Jean-Pierre said as she noted there will be a bill signing in Walorski’s honor. “She was top of mind for the president. He very much looks forward to discussing her remarkable legacy of public service with them when he sees her family.”
When the reporter repeated Biden’s words verbatim, she said, “I totally understand. I just explained she was of top of mind.”
Reporters repeatedly pressed her to explain the president’s comments. And rather than simply say it was a mistake, she somehow tried to make it sound as though Walorski being “top of mind” was a good explanation.
Jean-Pierre was clearly getting frustrated during the grilling. However, it was not clear if she was more frustrated by having to try to explain the blunder or by reporters asking the question in the first place.
And on Wednesday night, the White House revealed it did not plan to hold a press briefing on Thursday.
WH official says there's no press briefing tomorrow.
— Katie Rogers (@katierogers) September 28, 2022
You might have thought the White House would have used the slower months over the summer to try to solve or limit Biden and Harris’ gaffe problems. Democrats were feeling optimistic about November then, and it would have been great if they could have a president and vice president who didn’t make headlines for gaffes every five minutes.
It seems they’re just the same and will keep tripping over themselves — forcing staff to spend time cleaning up messes rather than pushing a positive message for the Democrats.
