Political analyst questions the way Kamala Harris apologized for her response to an offensive remark
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a Democratic presidential candidate, apologized Saturday for how she responded to a question from a voter who described President Trump's actions as "mentally retarded," saying she didn't hear "the words the man used in that moment, but if I had I would've stopped and corrected him." Harris' critics, however, are not buying the excuse.
Even some Democratic analysts, like Jamal Simmons, said it was "a bad moment." In the video which shows the exchange between Harris and the voter, the senator and the crowd laugh following the man's comments, to which Harris replied, "Well said." While there's no way to know for sure exactly what sparked Harris' laughter, the optics were certainly not great.
Simmons, in an appearance on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday, told host Margaret Brennan that he thinks Harris' campaign would have been better served if she admitted to reacting poorly to the question instead of denying that she had heard the man correctly. Simmons did add that dealing with "bad moments" is simply what happens during campaigns. Tim O'Donnell
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Massacre in the favela: Rio’s police take on the gangsIn the Spotlight The ‘defence operation’ killed 132 suspected gang members, but could spark ‘more hatred and revenge’
-
The John Lewis ad: touching, or just weird?Talking Point This year’s festive offering is full of 1990s nostalgia – but are hedonistic raves really the spirit of Christmas?
-
Codeword: November 15, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
