US Vice-President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party nominee in US Presidential Election 2024, had to contend with an awkward silence from her own supporters on an appeal she herself made in her own rally. Well this wasn't as bad as a candidate getting booed from his own supporters (John McCain, Republican Party, 2008 prez elections), it was nonetheless awkward for Harris. And for an election like this one, dependent on the public image of the candidates, the momentary awkwardness gave a lot of fodder for social media mills.
So it all started with pretty normal stuff, presidential candidate giving an upbeat campaign speech with ecstatic supporters cheering every word. Harris was addressing a rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Her audience mainly comprised college-age supporters.
In any political rally in the US, it is common to see supporters erupting in occasional slogans or other chants when the candidate is making their speech.
Harris' speech wasn't an exception. In the middle of the speech, her supporters started chanting her name.
"Ka-Ma-La, Ka-Ma-La," everyone shouted in unison. Harris beamed at everyone as she accepted the adulation.
And then she asked everyone to chant their own names loudly.
Now here's a thing about rally slogans and chants. In order for them to be effective, they need to be short and most importantly, made of common words which people collectively know.
Quite expectedly, the crowd was stumped as nobody could figure out what exactly to do as Harris asked them to shout their own names. And this created an awkward pause.
Watch the video below.
It seems Kamala Harris was able to save her face, but only just.
