New Delhi: United States Vice President Kamala Harris has been chastised for laughing when asked about the situation of Ukrainian migrants. On Thursday, the awkward moment happened during a joint news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw.
A reporter asked Harris whether the US would welcome Ukrainian refugees, and President Duda said, "If you directly requested the US to accept more refugees?"
Before responding, Harris spoke with the Polish President to see whether he wanted to react first.
"A friend in need is a friend indeed," she stated from the stage before breaking out in laughter for a few seconds.
Duda immediately began replying, stating that Poland had really requested Harris' assistance in expediting the consular process for Ukrainian refugees.
According to Harris, the two leaders discussed the burden on Poland as a result of the influx of Ukrainian refugees but did not respond to whether the US will accept a certain number of refugees.
However, detractors pounced on the US Vice President on Twitter, claiming that the subject was not amusing. "Kamla Harris finds Ukrainian Refugee Crisis Funny," a user tweeted.
"Watching Kamala Harris speak in Poland. She is "over her head" and not competent to represent America!," said another user on Twitter.
Here's what other Twitter users posted about the laughing incident:
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Since the Russian invasion began on February 24, around 1.43 million Ukrainians have fled to Poland. During the same period, about 291,081 Ukrainians migrated to Romania.
According to the United Nations, more than 2.3 million people have fled Ukraine as of March 10, despite warnings that up to five million people may emigrate. That would make it Europe's worst humanitarian disaster since World War II.