The former press secretary to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dished out harsh criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris following her awkward moment with a reporter.
Iuliia Mendel took to Twitter to react to a moment Harris shared with a reporter during a trip to Poland.
“It would be a tragedy if this woman won the presidency,” Mendel said in a since-deleted tweet.
Former Zelenskyy spokesperson @IuliiaMendel said in a now-deleted tweet that a Kamala Harris presidency would be a "tragedy."
— Sebastian Hughes (@ooghes) March 10, 2022
Harris had an awkward exchange with the Polish president when figuring out who would answer questions on Ukrainian refugees first. pic.twitter.com/ReHAAhbq9C
A reporter asked Harris about concerns with the refugee system, as IJR reported.
“I’m wondering what the United States is going to do more specifically to set up a permanent infrastructure and relatedly, is the United States willing to make a specific allocation for Ukrainian refugees?” the reporter asked Harris.
The reporter then asked Poland’s President Andrzej Duda if he asked the United States to accept more refugees.
Harris replied as she started laughing, “Okay,” adding, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”
The vice president received criticism for her response. Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean tweeted, “Nothing about any of this is funny.”
According to NBC News, more than 2 million people have left Ukraine as of Wednesday. Last week, the U.S. offered tens of thousands of Ukrainians living in the country a temporary humanitarian protection from deportation, as CBS News reported.
“Russia’s premeditated and unprovoked attack on Ukraine has resulted in an ongoing war, senseless violence, and Ukrainians forced to seek refuge in other countries,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.
He added, “In these extraordinary times, we will continue to offer our support and protection to Ukrainian nationals in the United States.”
President Joe Biden on Tuesday said the U.S. will “share the responsibility of caring for the refugees so the costs do not fall entirely on the European countries bordering Ukraine.”