Kamala Harris appears distracted during Hurricane Milton briefing, hides her mouth to tell someone ‘It’s a live broadcast’
In a clumsy attempt to be discreet, Vice President Kamala Harris was caught on a hot mic and on video Wednesday telling someone that the Hurricane Milton briefing she was in the middle of was a “live broadcast.”
As National Weather Service Director Ken Graham warned of the potentially devastating flooding that could result from the major hurricane’s landfall, Harris – who was taking part in briefing over video – appeared to become distracted by something behind the camera.
The vice president – in a moment that some on social media likened to a scene from HBO’s “Veep” – then awkwardly raised her hands up to her chin and slowly concealed half her face, including her mouth, with her palms and fingers.
“It’s a live broadcast,” Harris barked, with her mouth still shielded behind her hands.
Graham wrapped up his portion of the briefing seconds after the bizarre moment.
But Harris – seemingly showing that she was paying attention – quickly asked a follow up question before President Biden, who attended the briefing in person, could move on to the next official.
“Hey Ken I have a question for you,” Harris chimed in.
“You mentioned words matter, and – um –I know there is a lot of – um – media following this briefing. So, there have been – um – we’ve gone from a [category] five to a [category] four, and the language that a lot of folks have been using is ‘downgrade,’ but it sounds like you’re cautioning us that that may communicate a sense that the danger is lessened, when, in fact, it’s not. Can you talk a little bit about that?” the Democratic nominee asked.
Before her hot-mic moment, Harris appeared to be reading her portion of the briefing from a script – needing to glance down at her desk several times as she urged Florida residents to take Hurricane Milton seriously.
The storm made landfall near Siesta Key, Fla., late Wednesday night as a category 3 hurricane.
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The vice president’s office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Hurricane Milton reached Category 5 storm strength multiple times over the course of the last two days, a