BS BULLETIN:
- Kamala Harris was campaigning for California Democrat Richard Pan when one of her jokes landed with considerably less enthusiasm than she apparently expected.
- Harris laughed, paused and appeared to wait for the audience to join in.
- The clip quickly produced comparisons to Jeb Bush’s infamous “Please clap” moment.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris was back on the campaign trail in California Friday, helping Democratic congressional candidate Richard Pan — and one brief moment from the appearance is now getting more attention than the stump speech.
Harris was wrapping up remarks to campaign volunteers when she offered this advice:
“Please remember to shower!”
Harris immediately burst out laughing.
The room didn’t.
As the silence lingered, Harris appeared to look around waiting for a reaction before some applause finally arrived.
And the Internet knew exactly what it had witnessed.
“Her Jeb Bush moment,” one commenter wrote, recalling Bush’s immortal “Please clap” campaign moment.
Another offered simply:
“Mercy!”
And Ellie A perhaps captured the moment best: “That’s the funniest part about her, that she’s so amused and impressed with herself.”
Harris wasn’t finished trying to get the room going. Near the end, she launched into another riff about all the people she had encountered along the way — rattling them off as “this guy, that guy” while once again cracking herself up at her own delivery. The former vice president laughed through the bit, but the crowd’s reaction was considerably more restrained, producing another one of those awkward moments where Kamala seemed to be having a much better time with the joke than everybody listening.
Harris was appearing at Pan’s Sacramento campaign headquarters as he challenges Rep. Kevin Kiley in California’s 6th Congressional District. Harris praised Pan and attacked Kiley during roughly nine minutes of remarks before the two headed to a private fundraiser.
There was another controversy surrounding the appearance: KCRA reported that it and The New York Times were excluded from covering the event, although Harris’ and Pan’s teams disputed who was responsible for the credentialing decision. Neither Harris nor Pan took questions from reporters.
MY QUICK TAKE:
Oh, Kamala.
She delivers the line. She laughs. She waits. And waits.
Then come the mercy claps. Somewhere, Jeb Bush watched this clip and whispered: “Finally. I’m free.”
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Twitchy — Kamala wonders where applause is after delivering a ‘killer’ line, bursts into cackling
- KCRA — Kamala Harris, Richard Pan blocked some journalists from covering Sacramento campaign event
