Kamala Harris has been mocked for delivering yet another word salad speech while giving a pep talk to the cast of a musical on Broadway.
The former Vice President made two surprise appearances alongside husband Doug Emhoff in New York this weekend, at Studio 54 for A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical and later at the Majestic Theater for Gypsy.
She was greeted by cheers from the crowd and received a standing ovation, but it was her speech intended to inspire the cast and crew behind the scenes which has sparked the most controversy online.
‘In times when we’re dealing with so much in the world, um, we have to find those moments that are about joy and, and, and, shining, you know, as we say, shining a light in moments of darkness,’ she told the cast and crew of A Wonderful World.
‘When we think about these moments where we see things that are being taken, but also lets see it, you know, nature abhors a vacuum.
‘Where there’s a vacancy, lets fill it. Lets know that reality is that the progress of our nation has been about the expansion of rights, not the restriction of rights.’
Harris continued: ‘We’re seeing a u-turn right now. For those rights to be maintained which means we have to be vigilant. It’s just the nature of it.
‘We have to be clear eyed. And it doesn’t mean we don’t see the beauty in everything. These things all co-exist, but I believe we fight for something not against.’
Kamala Harris has been mocked for delivering yet another word salad speech while giving a pep talk to the cast of a musical on Broadway
The former Vice President made a surprise appearance at A Wonderful World in New York on Saturday, alongside partner Doug Emhoff
While the cast and crew nodded along and celebrated her visit, critics on social media have since expressed confusion about what precisely she was trying to say.
‘The saddest part is hearing the people agreeing with her like they were mesmerized by what she was “saying,”‘ one critic said.
‘The woman is completely incapable of giving a coherent statement. You’d think she’d keep her mouth shut at this point,’ another added.
A third said: ‘No self awareness. No filters. No adjustment. No improvement.’
Another critic shared the video of her pep talk, asking: ‘Thoughts? Would you pay to hear her monologues?’
‘Kamala Harris hit Broadway and, of course, served up her signature word salad. A friendly reminder of what we dodged in the White House.’
Cast member Wes Barnes shared a snippet of the interaction on TikTok and praised the former Vice President for being generous with her time.
He said: ‘Not only did she take the time to inspire us and speak life into us, but she was so gracious with her time as well.
‘In times when we’re dealing with so much in the world, um, we have to find those moments that are about joy and, and, and, shining, you know, as we say, shining a light in moments of darkness,’ she told the gathered crowd
She was greeted by cheers from the crowd and received a standing ovation, but it was her speech intended to inspire the cast and crew behind the scenes which has sparked the most controversy online
‘All I wanted was a photo. Not only did I get my photo… I got all of this. There is still hope. There’s still work to be done. We can’t give up, or in.’
Supporters flooded Barnes’ comment section lamenting ‘what could have been’ if Harris had won the presidential race.
She lost both the popular vote and the electoral vote to President Trump.
‘Her presence is commanding yet gentle,’ one Harris fan said.
Harris was repeatedly criticized during her bid for the White House for delivering ‘word salad’ answers to straightforward questions.
Her intended answer or message was often diluted by overcomplicating her answers – a point that Republicans and President Trump seized upon repeatedly.
Over the Christmas period, she hosted a holiday reception for her supporters, urging them not to lose hope despite her devastating 2024 loss.
During a speech to mark the event, Harris urged her supporters not to succumb to defeat, disappointment and depression.
While the cast and crew nodded along and celebrated her visit, critics on social media have since expressed confusion about what precisely she was trying to say
Kamala Harris, Douglas Emhoff and James Monroe Iglehart chat backstage at the new musical “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical ” on Broadway
But it quickly derailed into her signature ‘word salad’ gibberish as she droned on about food and the importance of getting rest.
‘Our work continues and so please everyone, look I know this election was not what we intended, certainly now what we wanted, I know there’s a lot of emotion that we are all feeling right now. I get it,’ she said with a knowing chuckle according to video clips published on social media.
‘Please I have to just, I have to insist, that please do not let your spirit or your purpose be defeated,’ she added.
Potentially her most famous ‘word salad’ is: ‘We have dreams. We can see what is possible, unburdened by what has been.’
Harris initially uttered the odd line when she spoke about what the word ‘innovation’ meant to her during a March 2023 speech during a trip to Ghana.
Speaking at the time, she said innovation was ‘one’s ability not only to see, but to do things differently’ and ‘challenging the premise, questioning the status quo, and bold thinking,’ and ‘the pursuit of what can be unburdened by what has been.’
She would burst into laughter after uttering the phrase ‘you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?’.
