Kamala Harris meets with Ukrainian president, reaffirms US commitment
Fox News Washington correspondent Mark Meredith reports from the White House, where President Biden insists Russia is ready to move.
Many observers were not inspired by Vice President Kamala Harris's trip to Munich over the weekend, arguing her press conference proved she was woefully unprepared to address the geopolitical crisis brewing on Ukraine's border.
Harris traveled to Munich to meet with several European allies in hopes of securing a united front in the event that Russia's Vladimir Putin decides to invade Ukraine. She met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and promised "severe" economic sanctions if Russia releases its troops. However, both she and President Biden have said that Putin has already made up his mind on a potential invasion.
One particular clip of Harris addressing the press has drawn particular scorn on social media.
"I mean, listen guys, we are talking about the potential for war in Europe," Harris said. "I mean, let's really take a moment to understand the significance of what we're talking about."
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to members of the media, after attending the Munich Security Conference, at her hotel in Munich, Germany February 20, 2022. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS (Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS)
After some meandering, Harris concluded that, collectively, the allies desire a "diplomatic end" to this.
Viewers called her remarks "word salad" and concluded she was "perpetually unprepared" for the critical foreign policy moment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking to the media during a joint news conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban following their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. (Yuri Kochetkov/Pool Photo via AP) (Yuri Kochetkov/Pool)
"How seriously does the Biden admin take our national security? On the brink of a potential war in Europe, they used a security conference as a photo op for Kamala, and then leaked to the press that she was totally unqualified to be there," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tweeted, linking to a Washington Post piece that quoted an American official suggesting that Harris's trip was disorganized and more about "burnishing her political credentials" than finding solutions.
Harris was also fact-checked for saying that Europe has been warless for 70 years.
Others suggested Biden only sent Harris overseas in order to distract from the administration's apparent "domestic disasters."
"Kamala is in Munich discussing the potential for ‘war in Europe’ because she is desperate to draw attention away from her boss’s domestic disasters," U.S. Senate candidate for Nevada Sam Brown wrote. "There’s nothing ‘reassuring’ about her visit there."
Some critics noted that one of those "domestic disasters" Harris left behind is the crisis on the southern border.
Many more blasted Harris for another soundbite from her presser in which she told Americans to brace for higher energy prices in the wake of an invasion.
From left, Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Latvian President Egils Levits, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, pose for photographs during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
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Putin is expected to address Russia on Monday.