Harris, 57, spoke in suburban Chicago on Tuesday night after asking Congress to pass a new assault weapons ban while addressing a teachers union rally earlier in the day. She vowed that suspected shooter Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, 21, would be “brought to justice,” but then “seriously” repeated herself during her remarks. “And we have to take these things seriously, just as you do — because you’ve been forced to take it seriously,” Harris told Highland Park residents. “The entire nation needs to understand and have a level of empathy to understand that this can happen anywhere, in any peaceful community,” Harris continued. “And we need to stand together and talk about why it needs to stop.” Harris has been slammed on social media for her “serious” repeated comments in Highland Park, a day after a gunman killed seven people at an Independence Day parade. Getty Images Chicago Tribune reporter Jake Sheridan posted video of Harris’ speech on Twitter, along with her repeating the phrase. “Did someone write this for her?” a response was read. Another critic said they thought the quote was a “joke”, while a third questioned whether Harris’ comments were the product of “first-generation” artificial intelligence software. “Word salad,” read another view on Twitter. “It means absolutely nothing.” “Unbroken streak for about nineteen months now of never making a single coherent statement as vice president,” read yet another tweet. “Almost admirable in its consistency.” One critic insisted that Harris could even star in a remake of HBO’s award-winning political satire “Veep,” sarcastically praising the “cheap production,” original film clips and “great dialogue.” “Does he seriously think we should take what he said seriously?” another social media critic scoffed. Seven people were shot and killed at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois on Monday. Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesOnline Critics slammed Harris for her confused comments after the mass shooting. AFP via Getty Images Tuesday was not the first time Harris has been accused of incoherence while trying to make serious statements. Days before Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Harris told reporters in Germany: “I mean, listen, guys, we’re talking about the possibility of war in Europe. I mean, let’s actually take a moment to understand the significance of what we’re talking about. Over 70 years have passed. And in those 70 years… there was peace and security. We are talking about the real possibility of war in Europe.” Critics pointed out that Harris’ definition of “peace and security” ignored the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe during the Cold War, the violent breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s and Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. Days later, the vice president was criticized for giving an overly simplistic explanation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on a morning radio show after being asked to describe the war “in layman’s terms.” “Well, Ukraine is a country in Europe,” he said. “It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country. Russia decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine. So basically, this is wrong and goes against everything we stand for.”
