By Julianna Frieman
Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, struggled to form sentences Friday when her teleprompter appeared to stop working mid-speech.
Harris repeated the phrase “32 days” multiple times at a Michigan rally when an apparent teleprompter glitch left her stranded to speak without pre-written words.
Just after referencing Magic Johnson, Harris said “Remember his number? 32! Today we got 32 days until the election” before pausing, visibly uncomfortable as she looked around at the quieting crowd.
It’s unclear if the teleprompter did in fact stop working or if the vice president simply gaffed.
“So, 32 days,” Harris said, appearing to wait for her teleprompter to work again. “Thirty-two days.”
Kamala’s teleprompter briefly went out at the beginning of her speech — you can tell the exact moment it happened.
She had absolutely no idea what to do or say.
Humiliating. pic.twitter.com/287bSswwgS
“Okay, we got some business to do. We got some business to do. Alright,” the vice president continued.
“Thirty-two days. And we know, we will do it,” Harris said, prompting her audience to shriek.
“And! And … this is gonna be a very tight race until the very end. This is gonna be a very tight race until the very end. We are the underdog, and we know we got some hard work ahead, but here’s the thing about us,” Harris said, finding her footing once more as the teleprompter apparently began working again. “We like hard work!”
The Trump campaign pounced on Harris’s apparent struggle to speak without a script, saying the vice president “had absolutely no idea what to do or say.”
Harris, who replaced President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket 76 days ago, has yet to take questions in a formal press conference.
The Harris campaign has been characterized by limited media access as the vice president and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, first addressed the press in a joint CNN interview in late August. (RELATED: Biden-Harris Cabinet Secretary Claims ‘Punishing Schedule’ Makes It Impossible For Kamala To Answer Questions
Harris also appeared with Oprah Winfrey on Sept. 19 for a “Unite for America” rally featuring A-list celebrities including Meryl Streep, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lopez.
The vice president granted MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle a one-on-one sit-down interview in late September. Harris criticized 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s economic policy proposals and reiterated the disputed claim that she served McDonald’s food “on a sesame seed bun” and “did fries” as a former fast-food employee.
Harris is set to appear on the popular “Call Her Daddy” podcast in an interview about abortion she taped Tuesday with host Alex Cooper, a campaign spokesperson confirmed to Axios.
The vice president went viral after becoming the Democratic nominee for saying “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you” while quoting her mother in a May 2023 speech.
Known for her signature “word salads,” Harris has also garnered attention for her go-to phrase declaring she is “unburden by what has been.”
i love good news, love good news, i just love good news!
kamala harris excited giddy giggling laughing interview reaction video stan twitter meme pic.twitter.com/4kqTbRUtb0
— The Memes Archive (@TheMemesArchive) August 10, 2022
It’s that time of year! @VP Harris’s wet brine-dry brine turkey advice to my husband in 2019. #gobblegobble #annualtradition pic.twitter.com/MhDcN4WjOh
— Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) November 23, 2022
Other viral gaffes include Harris clapping along to a song protesting her visit to Puerto Rico, a clip of Harris cackling while professing her love for “good news” and a video of Harris explaining how to season a turkey.
The Daily Caller reached out to the Harris campaign for comment but did not hear back.