White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre clearly dismissed a question about Vice President Kamala Harris’ alleged “Southern accent” during a recent public appearance.
The topic came up during Jean-Pierre’s daily press conference on Tuesday, when Fox News Reporter Peter Doocy questioned the vice president’s apparent dialect change during her Labor Day rally in Detroit, which went viral over the weekend.
Doocy asked, “Since when does the Vice President have an accent that sounds like a Southern accent?” Jean-Pierre, visibly annoyed by this line of questioning, replied, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
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Undeterred, the Fox News reporter continued, “I mean, do you hear the question that you – I mean, do you think the American people seriously think this is an important question?” Jean-Pierre replied, visibly annoyed, “You know what is important to them? They care about the economy, they care about reducing costs, they care about health care. That’s what they want to hear… democracy and freedom… I’m not even going to consider asking a question about that… it’s just. Hearing that sounds so ridiculous. The question – I’m talking about the question – is just crazy.”
Doocy continued to press whether Harris ever uses this alleged accent in White House meetings. Jean-Pierre, who declined to elaborate, replied curtly: “I’m just Peter, we’re moving on. We’re really moving on.”
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The controversy stems from Harris’ visit to Detroit on Labor Day, where she addressed a crowd of union workers. During her speech, Harris urged the audience, “You should thank a union member for the five-day work week. You should thank a union member for sick leave. You should thank a union member for paid vacation. You should thank a union member for vacation.”
Internet users were quick to seize on Harris’s perceived change in expression, with some conservative commentators calling it “embarrassing and inauthentic.”
