Vice President Kamala Harris criticized for comments on Russia-Ukraine war

Vice President Kamala Harris is receiving criticism for her explanation of what is going in the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has culminated in a Russian invasion of its neighboring country.

Harris, during an appearance on the “Morning Hustle” radio program, was asked by a co-host to explain the war “in layman’s terms for people who don’t understand what’s going on and how can this directly affect the people of the United States.” 

Harris began speaking slowly and said, “So, Ukraine is a country in Europe.” She continued, “It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country. Russia decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine. So, basically, that’s wrong, and it goes against everything that we stand for.” 

Conservatives were quick to lay into and criticize the vice president on social media on Tuesday over her extremely simplified explanation of Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, as one commenter compared her statement to an episode of “Peppa Pig,” a children’s television program.

Seth Mandel, executive editor for the Washington Examiner, described Harris’ explanation as “terrifying.” He added, posting to Twitter, “She just has a real inability to talk normally to [people]. Layman’s terms doesn’t mean ‘assume the audience has never heard of Russia.’” 

This instance is not the first in which Harris’ understanding of foreign policy has been questioned, especially by political opponents.

During a meeting with reporters at the Munich Security Conference in Germany last month, Harris was criticized for saying that Europe had enjoyed “peace and security” since the conclusion of World War II, ignoring or forgetting Soviet incursions into Hungary and Czechoslovakia during the Cold War, the civil wars in the Balkan region of the 1990s, and Russia’s military campaigns in Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine under current President Vladimir Putin.