On Sunday, Democratic strategist Doug Schoen ripped into Vice President Kamala Harris’ behavior during trip to Poland and Romania as the face of the Biden administration amid the crisis in Ukraine.
Schoen, a longtime Democrat veteran who was worked for the Clintons, said that he “was embarrassed” by Harris.
VIDEO – Doug Schoen: ‘I Was Embarrassed’ by VP Harris Laughing Hysterically During Her Visit to Poland https://t.co/HQSrfMGTFC
— Grabien (@GrabienMedia) March 13, 2022
RELATED: Kamala Harris Mocked For Awkward ‘Word Salad’ In Poland As U.S. Seeks To Help Ukraine
Democrat Schoen on Harris’ diplomacy effort: ‘I think this was tragic and very, very, very sad’
Fox host Brian Kilmeade opened up the segment by showing a clip of Harris laughing, which was apparently in response to a question about the U.S. taking in Ukrainian refugees.
“Brian, I was embarrassed,” Schoen said of Harris. “This is not a Democrat and Republican issue, this is an issue of transcended foreign policy needs and concerns of the United States.”
“She came up not only short, but the laughter, the the failure to unequivocally say ‘we will do anything we can for the Ukrainian people to provide as much support as possible’ sadly means that I have to agree with Monica.”
“I wish I could disagree, but as a Democrat and an American first, I think this was tragic and very, very, very sad,” Schoen added.
When Harris was asked a question during the Polish press conference about U.S. policy toward the influx of Ukrainian refugees, she laughed as she and Polish President Duda hesitated on who should answer first.
The vice president then said “a friend in need is a friend indeed.”
Then she laughed again.
Later Thursday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s former spokeswoman Iuliia Mendel tweeted that “it would be a tragedy” if Harris ever became president of the United States.
That tweet has since been deleted.
Mendel told CNN’s Alex Marquardt during an interview on Friday that Harris’ laugh was “inappropriate” and “a very bad experience” for the people of Ukraine.
Only Kamala Harris would find it appropriate to laugh when talking about the topic of Ukrainian Refugees.
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) March 10, 2022
Gingrich: ‘If you watch Kamala Harris, how could you send her anywhere?’
Mendel and Schoen weren’t the only critics.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich slammed Harris on Friday, telling Fox News, “… If you watch Kamala Harris, how could you send her anywhere? I mean, the fact- she is such an example of weakness and ignorance that having her in Poland and Romania weakens, it doesn’t strengthen, the Western alliance and nobody’s coming to grips with the reality of Putin.”
As might be expected, over at MSNBC the takeaway was the exact opposite: that Harris was tough and “put her finger in the chest of Vladimir Putin.”
“So her really putting her finger in the chest of Vladimir Putin and saying that there will be consequences if he continues to press forward. Not only in Ukraine, but threatening NATO allies.” @emarvelous on VP Harris addressing the Russia-Ukraine conflict #CrossConnection pic.twitter.com/geUCM4oADd
— The Cross Connection with Tiffany Cross (@CrossConnection) March 12, 2022