Kamala Harris‘ ‘woke’ joke about female Marines fell flat during her commencement speech at the US Naval Academy on Friday.
The Vice President was the first woman to deliver the keynote commencement address at a Navy Academy ceremony, and she made sure to reference female empowerment as she spoke to the group of graduates.
‘You are electrical engineers who will soon help convert solar and wind energy into power, convert solar and wind energy into combat power,’ she stated during the speech.
‘Just ask any Marine today, would she rather carry 20 pounds of batteries or a rolled up solar panel, and I am positive she will tell you a solar panel – and so would he’.
Harris subsequently burst into her trademark laugh after making the joke, but the reaction from the crowd was far more muted.
Some soft clapping ensued, but the joke was panned on Twitter, where video of the speech has been viewed more than half a million times.
Kamala Harris’ woke joke about female Marines fell flat during her commencement speech at the US Naval Academy on Friday
Newsmax host Benny Johnson wrote: ‘Cadets groan as Kamala cackles awkwardly alone onstage.’
Another responded: ‘Demonstrating once again that there’s nothing funny about being woke.’
Others remarked that solar panels often require batteries to store energy collected from sunlight.
It comes just a week after jokes President Biden made at the Coast Guard graduation ceremony similarly fell flat.
‘As your commander in chief I’ve been looking forward to being able to do this for a long time. I want to keep the longstanding tradition: I hereby absolve all those serving restrictions [for] minor infractions – absolved’ the President told the crowd of graduates in New London, Connecticut.
‘You have no idea how much I wish you’d have been able to do that in my graduation,’ he joked.
‘You all think I’m kidding. I’m not. Minor infractions like using a fire extinguisher to hose down a room assistant, but other than that …’ he said, alluding to a prank he carried out on his dorm advisor at the University of Delaware.
When the crowd failed to respond he stated: ‘You’re a really dull class. I mean, come on, man, is the sun getting to you?’
It comes just a week after jokes President Biden made at the Coast Guard graduation ceremony similarly fell flat
Meanwhile, in her commencement address on Friday, Harris also spoke to the graduates about the work Marines did during the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘Naval researchers also figured out how to use 3-D knitting machines to make masks. Naval labs monitored the spread of the disease,’ she stated.
‘And the Marine Corps and the Navy are leading on making the connection between the pandemic and medical readiness of our fighting forces for the future.
‘The American people are depending on you.’
She later shook hands with many members of the graduating class without wearing a facemask.
US Naval Academy graduates throw their caps at the conclusion of the commencement ceremony
The Vice President was the first woman to deliver the keynote commencement address at a Navy Academy ceremony
Source: Daily Mail US
