Washington.- The discussion, during a forum that was broadcast live on Thursday between Oprah Winfrey and Vice President Kamala Harris, began with an emotional question that has become a somber and popular theme for the Democratic campaign on gun safety.
A video was played about the horror of a school shooting. A teenager who was shot stood in the hearing with his wrist and arm bandaged. His mother, in tears, spoke directly to Harris, imploring her that those in power must change things.
But then, after Winfrey, who has been a volunteer on the campaign, changed the subject to Harris’s gun ownership, the vice president sent a different message.
“If anyone breaks into my house, they’re going to be met with gunfire,” Harris said, laughing.
That was a surprising statement from a candidate who is usually very cautious and who immediately regretted her comment.
Harris admitted she “shouldn’t have said that” and joked that her advisers would delete her comment.
“My staff will fix that later,” Harris said with a laugh.
But it also underscored her party’s growing comfort with the country’s gun culture even as her campaign rails against those dangers — and how Harris is using that in the narrow window of opportunity she has to present herself to a country that has never elected a woman president.
“Here’s my point, Oprah,” Harris added. “I’m not going to try to take away everyone’s guns.”
Guns and the presidency have gone hand in hand for most of American history. You can pick up a replica of one of George Washington’s pistols for $156.99 at the Tea Party Museum in Boston — the Smithsonian Museum has the originals.
When Barack Obama was president, the White House revealed that he enjoyed target shooting at Camp David.
In recent years, though, it has generally been male Democrats in red states — not women in California — who have made guns secondary to their political campaigns.
Harris’ comment — which was ostensibly an off-the-cuff moment from a candidate who just spoke this week about choosing her words carefully — came at a time when she is working hard to portray herself as a tough guy in a campaign against an opponent who cares deeply about projecting an image of strength.
#Harris #tells #Oprah #Youre #met #bullets #breaks #home
