Vice President Kamala Harris participated in an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle on Thursday, but one answer in particular drew attention online.
Harris repeated the word ‘holistic’ three times in just 23 seconds to emphasize a point about how to increase available housing.
‘For example, some of the work is going to be through what we do in terms of giving benefits and assistance to state and local governments around transit dollars,’ she first replied.
‘… and looking holistically at the connection between that and housing, and looking holistically at the incentives we in the federal government can create for local and state governments to actually engage in planning in a holistic manner that includes prioritizing affordable housing for working people,’ Harris explained to Ruhle.
The elaborate emphasis on the word ‘holistic’ left viewers puzzled about what Harris was talking about as critics ripped into her latest word salad on social media.
Kamala Harris talks about the economy with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle
The Trump campaign leaned into the moment, clipping the video for their followers.
‘Kamala appears to have just learned the word ‘holistically,’ the account read.
Others made the same observation.
‘Kamala has learned the word holistic, guys. Proceeds to use it three times in under thirty seconds. Intelligent people don’t talk like this,’ conservative radio host Clay Travis wrote on social media.
‘People trying to pretend to be intelligent do though,’ he went on.
‘Kamala learned a new word… “holistic,” Watch her proudly use it 3 times in 15 seconds,’ comedian Tim Young wrote.
‘Today’s new word in Kamala’s word-salad buffet: “Holistic,”‘ remarked Mike Davis of the Article 3 Project.
A review of Harris transcripts indicates that the VP has used the word from time to time in prepared speeches.
But she is increasingly using it during her presidential campaign while trying to detail ways she plans to fix problems.
Harris also leaned on the word ‘holistic’ during her conversation with the National Association of Black Journalists earlier this month.
Kamala Harris speaks with MSNBC about the economy
Kamala Harris interviewed by National Association of Black Journalists
‘The trauma that exists in communities around the violence of losing their children, losing a brother, losing a father, an uncle — all of that must be addressed, and we have to have a holistic response to it,’ she said, when asked about how she planned to address gun violence.
She continued, ‘It’s about understanding what we need to do to, again, understand that, to your point, we have to have a holistic response to this issue and prioritize it, instead of reacting to the tragedy that, sadly, they are too predictable.’
Throughout her career as vice president, Harris has had moments in interviews where she struggles to explain herself, sometimes skirting the question and focusing on defining the problem instead.
