As America Honors the Fallen on Memorial Day, Kamala Harris Snubs Their Sacrifice with Infuriating Tweet
What’s Memorial Day to the vice president of the United States of America? Just an excuse for a long weekend, apparently.
I’m not sure what else you’re supposed to take away from what Kamala Harris tweeted out on Saturday afternoon.
Yes, there is a three-day weekend, and for many Americans, it’s only the unofficial kick-off of the summer season or the cue that you can start wearing white. These people are, generally speaking, not in public service.
If they are in elected office, they’re probably surrounded by a phalanx of handlers, at least one of whom would realize the true meaning of the annual holiday on the last Monday in May: To honor those who gave their lives in service of our country.
If national politicians don’t know that, and don’t have staffers who know that, it speaks volumes.
Volumes were indeed spoken by whoever published this Saturday on Harris’ official vice presidential Twitter account:
This was, by the way, just a day after Harris gave the commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy’s graduation and commissioning ceremony.
One might think such a recent, personal experience with a branch of the nation’s military would maybe set off a spark in a neuron somewhere, an electrical impulse that would eventually set off an alarm in the temporal lobe and prompt the vice president to commemorate those brave men and women who gave all.
Nope.
Instead, it was: “Enjoy the long weekend.” Here’s a picture of me!
This didn’t go over well:
There was anger, and then there was heartbreak from parents who’ll never forget what Memorial Day is about:
And then there was this, from former Donald Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis. It’s a not-so-subtle reminder of where we are and where we were:
Harris isn’t president — although she shares an unusual co-billing arrangement with the president, given the unusual tendency at 1600 Pennsylvania to refer to it as the “Biden-Harris administration.”
The point was duly made, however: The vice president didn’t just look down at her calendar and see Monday designated as “Long Weekend.” It said “Memorial Day.” The vice president chose the message she wanted to send out to her supporters — and it was the wrong one.
New York GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin may have put it best, using his quote-tweet from Harris as a starting point, and adding what should have been there in the first place:
And yes, there are barbecues and parties and road trips on Memorial Day weekend. That’s all right, so long as we remember why we have the freedom to do these things. Especially for those in public office, we shouldn’t just get to say Memorial Day is a “long weekend” for us.
When the vice president snubs our heroes this way, that’s even more infuriating.
UPDATE, May 30, 2021: On Sunday morning, the vice president’s Twitter account published a kind of “make-up” tweet to pay some tribute to the true heroes honored by the holiday.
But by then, obviously, the damage had been done.
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