Vice President Kamala Harris found herself in an awkward situation during a rally in Michigan on Friday when her teleprompter failed at the beginning of her speech. The glitch left Harris visibly flustered and struggling to find her footing, revealing what many critics are calling her difficulty with improvisation. The rally, which was intended to be a key moment in the Harris-Walz campaign’s final push, instead became fodder for pundits and social media users who pointed to her inability to smoothly handle the setback.
Harris kicked off her remarks with enthusiasm, saying, “Remember his number, 32! Today we got 32 days until the election,” in what some noted was a sudden shift to an accent she rarely uses outside of certain rallies. But when she glanced over at the teleprompter and realized it wasn’t functioning, her confident demeanor turned to one of uncertainty. What followed was a series of repetitive statements that failed to reignite the momentum of the speech.
“So 32 days… 32 days. Ok, we got some business to do, we got some business to do. 32 days. And we know… we will do it,” she said, stumbling through a long pause before managing to add, “And, and this is going to be a very tight race until the very end. This is going to be a very tight race until the very end. And we are the underdog, and we know we have some hard work ahead.”
JUST IN: Kamala Harris has no clue what to say after her teleprompter appears to stop working, keeps repeating herself.
The Vice President kept repeating “32 days.”
“Remember his number 32 today? We got 32 days until the election.”
“So 32 days… 32 days… Okay. We got some… pic.twitter.com/2fIl1nyEkq
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 4, 2024
The brief silence and repetitive phrasing seemed to emphasize Harris’s struggle to pivot without the teleprompter’s guidance, leading to a series of comments on social media questioning her readiness for high-pressure moments. Conservative voices, in particular, were quick to seize on the moment, criticizing Harris for what they described as a lack of composure and improvisational skill.
Gun rights activist Colion Noir didn’t mince words in his assessment, posting on X (formerly Twitter), “Look, I don’t care what your stance on @realDonaldTrump is—set that aside. Just look at Kamala Harris objectively. She’s wholly incompetent to be President. If you can’t handle a speech when the teleprompter goes down, you don’t have what it takes to lead the United States.” Conservative radio host Rich Zeoli added a more humorous take, saying, “When the teleprompter goes out, Kamala Harris just keeps repeating 32 days, and 32 seconds feels like 32 days for everyone in attendance.”
The incident comes at a time when Democratic strategists are reportedly becoming increasingly concerned about the lack of media exposure and campaign engagement from the Harris-Walz ticket. According to a report from Politico, citing over a dozen Democratic Party insiders, there is growing anxiety within the party that the campaign is failing to seize critical opportunities to engage with voters in key battleground states. Comparisons are being made to the 2016 election, where Donald Trump’s relentless media presence overshadowed his opponents.
David Axelrod, a Democratic Party strategist and key architect of Barack Obama’s 2008 victory, emphasized the importance of constant media engagement and spontaneous interactions for a successful campaign. “There’s a time at which you just have to barnstorm these battlegrounds,” Axelrod said. “These races are decathlons, and there are a lot of events, and you have to do all of them because people want to test you.”
Axelrod’s comments underscore a concern that the Harris-Walz campaign might be playing it too safe by avoiding unscripted moments and tough questions from the press. He pointed out that part of proving one’s mettle in a presidential race is handling the “most difficult oral exam on the planet,” which includes not just prepared speeches but also town halls, off-the-record conversations, and spontaneous engagements where a candidate’s ability to think on their feet is tested.
The teleprompter failure at Harris’s Michigan rally has now become symbolic of the broader issues that critics say plague her campaign—namely, the reluctance to engage in challenging, off-the-cuff interactions that showcase a candidate’s depth and authenticity. With the election rapidly approaching, the spotlight on Harris’s performance is only getting brighter, and moments like these are sure to fuel further scrutiny about her readiness for the top job.
