Many Americans have become more germ-conscious since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year – but Vice President Kamala Harris may have made her apparent concerns too conspicuous.
Harris was caught on camera Friday immediately wiping her right hand on her jacket after shaking hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House.
Kamala Harris insults the South Korean President Moon Jae-in by wiping her hand off after shaking his hand. #USA #SouthKorea #Democrats #KamalaHarris #MoonJaein #DiplomaticIncident #ForeignAffairs #Insult #Wipe #BadManners pic.twitter.com/h8bysZKeql
— Tree of Knowledge (@TreeofKnowled14) May 22, 2021
Harris and Moon discussed North Korea, global health and the “root causes” of migration to the U.S. from Central America, Harris later wrote on Twitter.
Many social media users accused the vice president of being rude to Moon – with some claiming a Republican leader would have faced much harsher criticism for the same action.
“This is the USA VP?” one user wrote. “Not only disrespectful, but it would be ‘racist’ if this was a Republican, all over the news for sure….Double standards on full display.”
This is the USA VP?
Not only disrespectful, but it would be "racist" if this was a Republican, all over the news for sure…Double standards on full display.https://t.co/Q1tnaKgcRs— GoddoG (@GoddoG_668) May 23, 2021
“Wow! That’s so embarrassing!” another wrote.
@VP Kamala Harris does a hand wipe after shaking hands with SK President Moon!
Wow! That’s so embarrassing! https://t.co/3TLlQNRKOR
— Jordan Dundas 🌐 (@F_O_R_D_NATION) May 22, 2021
“Is South Korea not our ally anymore,” one Twitter user commented.
No more masks or social distancing at The White House
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 20, 2021
“You can’t wipe off a virus on your pants,” another observed. “Plus, Kamala is fully vaccinated.”
We are living in covid. I immediately wash my hands after touching someone else’s
— Becks (@badbeckss) May 21, 2021
The vice president’s sense of decorum was previously called into question in late March, when sharp-eyed media watchers noticed the vice president hadn’t saluted U.S. military personnel as she climbed the steps to board Air Force Two.
So VP Kamala Harris doesn’t salute the military. What a vile witch…. @VP pic.twitter.com/zsz6iegjI5
— @NYLawyer (@LawyerNY) March 23, 2021
Fox News found that Harris had also skipped salutes on several other prior occasions.
Wheels up! See you soon North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/Gzaxzl836j
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) April 19, 2021
Weeks after the criticism, Harris posted a video on Twitter that showed her saluting before boarding a flight to North Carolina.
Author: Dom Calicchio
Source: Fox News: Kamala Harris wipes hand after greeting South Korean leader, faces Twitter backlash