As the new members-elect of the United States Senate for the 119th United States Congress were being sworn in, Vice President Kamala Harris flubbed the Pledge of Allegiance. Awkwardly, Harris appears to correct herself as she realizes she missed the "the flag of" part of the pledge in a less than stellar gaffe on Friday, January 3, 2025.
"I pledge allegiance to the United States of America," Kamala Harris said while leading the pledge in front of the members-elect of the United States Senate. For those not knowledgeable on the actual words of the pledge, it reads as follows: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Harris had omitted the words "the flag of," and Harris is heard repeating "United States of America" as the others correctly recite the Pledge of Allegiance. This further exposed her blunder to the public. And, as you might expect, many users online and authorities heavily criticized or just ridiculed Harris for her mistake.
"Kamala Harris not knowing all the words to the Pledge of Allegiance is her political career in a nutshell," one user wrote on X. "In my kindergarten no one ever messed up the Pledge of Allegiance," a second user said. A third user said: "Kamala Harris doesn't even know the words to the pledge of allegiance. We seriously dodged a bullet!"
Further Criticism
Others were quick to up the ante and further criticize the Vice President. "Kamala Harris is just one heartbeat away from becoming our next president and yet she can't remember the pledge of allegiance," user "amuse" said on X. "Perhaps it is because she grew up in Canada and hates America? Perhaps she's drunk?"
Many authorities joined in, with Representative Dan Crenshaw imagining a Harris speech about the Pledge of Allegiance, mocking her.
"I pledge allegiance—which, you know, is about pledging. And pledging is important because when we pledge, we are pledging to something, right?" Crenshaw wrote. "So, I pledge allegiance to the flag. Now, this flag, it's not just a flag. It's the flag. And it's a flag that stands for...well, it stands."
Chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Party Joe Powers also bashed Harris for her botch. "From the same party that thought removing American flags and the Pledge of Allegiance from our schools was a brilliant idea!" Powers wrote on X. "Democrats choice for Pres. of the U.S., @KamalaHarris can't even recite the pledge. Are we even surprised at this point?"
