OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Kamala Harris visited Vietnam this week and in an apparent faux pas she laid flowers at a site that celebrated the shooting down of pilot, and late Sen. John McCain.
Apparently, Harris mistook the site that celebrated the Vietnamese civilians who captured McCain and handed him over to the communist government as their prisoner, for a memorial to the late senator.
Why she would believe that a nation that was fighting against the United States would erect a memorial for a man who fought against them is unknown.
.@VP Harris lays flowers at Hanoi memorial where John McCain’s plane was shot down.
"He was an extraordinary American. A hero…he loved our country. He was so courageous and really lived the life of a hero…always fought for the best of who we are." pic.twitter.com/9KgZJ9GWCm
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 25, 2021
“He was an extraordinary American. A hero. I was honored and privileged to serve with him for a short time in the United States Senate. He loved our country. He was so courageous and really lived the life of a hero…always fought for the best of who we are,” Harris said.
Twitter users excoriated Harris for not seeing the blatant signs that this was not a memorial honoring McCain but is a memorial honoring his capture.
“John McCain is the figure pictured there with his hands up. This does not commemorate John McCain it celebrates his capture and the soldiers who captured him lmfaoooo,” one Twitter user said.
John McCain is the figure pictured there with his hands up. This does not commemorate John McCain it celebrates his capture and the soldiers who captured him lmfaoooo
— The 🏳️🌈 Tal 🏴Synbiont 🌲(Doomer Arc) (@BerkmanOnlyfans) August 25, 2021
“That, uh, isn’t a memorial to HONOR McCain, lmao,” another Twitter user said.
That, uh, isn’t a memorial to HONOR McCain, lmao
— Waltz of the 101st Bloodborne (@antitractionist) August 25, 2021
“I guess when you have media control you can just make up what a memorial represents,” another said.
I guess when you have media control you can just make up what a memorial represents
— Alice brutalist gf (@AnComAlice) August 25, 2021
“Oh this gets funnier! @VP @KamalaHarris doesn’t even think about what the statue signifies. It was created 2 honor Vietnamese soldiers that shot McCain’s plane down. The irony! She’s a token in this administration. Another irony #ImpeachBidenHarrisNOW,” another tweet read.
Oh this gets funnier! @VP @KamalaHarris doesn’t even think about what the statue signifies. 😉🤣 It was created 2 honor Vietnamese soldiers that shot McCain’s plane down. The irony! She’s a token in this administration. Another irony #ImpeachBidenHarrisNOW https://t.co/Dh41OzBnCV
— Trish A. Jeffers-Zeh (@ZeffersStudios) August 26, 2021
“Does Harris know this monument honors the people who shot down John McCain’s plane? Vietnamese people view him as a war criminal,” Yawen Xu, a journalist based in Beijing, said.
Does Harris know this monument honors the people who shot down John McCain’s plane? Vietnamese people view him as a war criminal. https://t.co/13eqatH4Xi
— Yawen Xu (@YawenXu17) August 26, 2021
“It’s a memorial that CELEBRATES shooting down his plane you morons,” Kyle Shideler, the Director/Senior Analyst for Homeland Security & Counterterrorism a the Center For Security Policy, said.
It’s a memorial that CELEBRATES shooting down his plane you morons. https://t.co/7JJd5MpQoL
— Kyle Shideler (@ShidelerK) August 26, 2021
“Like going to Pearl Harbor and laying a wreath for a brave Japanese pilot,” another Twitter user said.
Like going to Pearl Harbor and laying a wreath for a brave Japanese pilot. https://t.co/j4PndoQ1TQ
— Nicholas Mwangangi🍥 (@killmonge3r) August 26, 2021
And they are correct. The translation for the monument does not read as a tribute to the late senator.
“On 26 October 1967 near Trúc Bạch Lake in the capital, Hanoi, the citizens and military caught Pilot John Sidney McCain. The US Navy Air Force Aviator was flying aircraft A4, which crashed near Yen Phu power station. This was one of ten aircraft shot down that same day,” it says.
Sorry for my rough translation, this is the official one:
Read this and pls tell me, with a straight face, how is this a memorial to John McCain…? pic.twitter.com/U31Pud0ddC— Luna Oi! 🇻🇳 ¡ANTI-USAID ACTION! 🇨🇺 (@LunaOi_VN) August 25, 2021
The late Sen. McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, also lashed out at Harris for another reason.
“If you want to honor my dads legacy on this anniversary of his death – you would spend every second making sure every single American and Afghan ally is out of harms way. He was nothing if not someone who understood sacrifice and loyalty to the people he served with,” she said.
If you want to honor my dads legacy on this anniversary of his death – you would spend every second making sure every single American and Afghan ally is out of harms way.
He was nothing if not someone who understood sacrifice and loyalty to the people he served with.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) August 25, 2021
It was not the only criticism Harris received during her trip to Asia.
Her ability to find levity in the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal and the ongoing crisis created by the Biden administration’s widely-criticized stumbles over the situation may not serve to lighten the mood and instead of anger those already disappointed with Joe Biden to stiffen their resolve in wanting him to be a one-term president with Harris out alongside him.
Harris’ poor showing began with her trip to Asia, which – as Conservative Brief reported on Saturday – has been greatly overshadowed by the situation in Afghanistan. Asked by a reporter for her thoughts on Americans trapped in Afghanistan, Harris gave her signature laugh at the crowd of reporters who were clamoring to ask her questions about the situation.
“Slow down, everybody,” said Harris, apparently responding to the group of reporters present at Changi Airport in Singapore.
After briefly laughing, Harris managed to regain her composure to state her views on the situation in Afghanistan.
WATCH: Kamala Harris laughs when a reporter starts to ask her about Americans trapped in Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/7863Seq36C
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 22, 2021
“We couldn’t have a higher priority right now,” she said. “And in particular our priority is making sure we safely evacuate American citizens, Afghans who worked with us, Afghans at risk including women and children, and that is one of our highest – if not the highest priority right now.”