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Did Kamala Harris REALLY say Ukraine was part of NATO? Confused fans backs embattled veep

VP's official Twitter account deletes and uploads new tweet after error, days after she makes the same error in a speech on Ukraine

As most people know by now, Ukraine is not a part of NATO. However, Vice President Kamala Harris seems to have some confusion on the matter, after a tweet from her official VP account claimed it was, before being quickly taken down. That tweet comes just days after Harris made the same error in a speech about Ukraine, causing massive confusion on Twitter. 

The embattled VP is currently struggling to win public opinion, ahead of the crucial 2022 midterms. Harris traveled to Poland and Romania in early March 2022, much to the horror of many of her critics. There, she drew widespread criticism for laughing about the Ukraine war during a press conference with the Polish President. Others defended Harris noting that even President Andrzej Duda appeared to laugh during the same conference. 

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While that controversy has just passed over the White House, a new one has now emerged in its place. It is a major gaffe on Harris' part, but one that is more likely to have consequences at home than it will abroad.

Did Harris call Ukraine a part of NATO?

The controversy first erupted on March 12, after Harris spoke at a DNC General Session. "So, I will say what I know we all say and I will say over and over again, the United States stands firmly with the Ukrainian people in defense of the NATO Alliance," she told attendees, in a moment that was quickly captured and pushed all over the internet. As many users pointed out, her phrasing indicates Ukraine is part of NATO, when in reality it isn't.

The controversy should've ended there, but it didn't. On March 16, the @VP Twitter account made a similar claim when it posted, "When I was in Poland, I met with U.S. and Polish service members, thanking them for standing with our NATO allies for freedom, peace, and security. The United States stands firmly with the Ukrainian people in defense of the NATO alliance." That tweet was quickly taken down and replaced with another saying, "The United States stands firmly with the Ukrainian people and in defense of the NATO alliance.”

The key difference is that the new tweet uses "and" to indicate a difference between the Ukrainian people and NATO. It appears the error was also corrected in Harris' speech to the DNC, with the official White House transcript now adding "and" in brackets, indicating she meant to say the word but omitted it. Shortly after the mistake was uploaded, a DNC spokesperson confirmed "The 'and' was omitted by accident, so we took it down and reposted with the correct remarks" to Fox News. 

'Can she really be that obtuse?'

From Fox, the controversy soon became a talking point online, as many debated on the error. Several users defended Harris by tweeting things like "It really doesn’t. Could you perhaps take this down because it’s needlessly misleading and inflammatory?" and "Read the tweet genius! First a doctored video and now this you guys are desperate aren’t you?" as the pointed out the latest tweet. 

Others, however, doubled down on their criticism. "'Dumb as a Box of Hammers' award goes to VEEP Kamala Harris for tweeting (now deleted) that we are supporting Ukraine 'in defense of the NATO alliance.' Can she really be that obtuse? Yes, she proves it over and over again," one person slammed. Another mocked, "This is what happens when you insert people in office based on their complexion and gender." A third said, "In a now deleted tweet… "So I will say what I know we all say, and I will say over and over again: The United States stands firmly with the Ukrainian people in defense of the NATO alliance."- VP Kamala Harris 3/15/22 -Twitter would rather have WW3 than an edit button."

Disclaimer: This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.