Get it right

In widely reported comments, Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States, was mocked for apparently giving a childish and simplistic description of the Ukraine crisis. She said:

“So, Ukraine is a country in Europe. It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country. Russia decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine. So, basically, that’s wrong, and it goes against everything that we stand for.”

This analysis, quoted without attribution from The Little Golden Book of Foreign Policy, feeds the conservative narrative that Harris is a lightweight who is way out of her depth. I don't know whether or not this is a fair comment. After some digging, I discovered that this story is based on Harris's words being taken out of context. She appeared on a podcast, and was asked to explain the conflict in layperson's terms. According to Nikki Ray Ramirez, writing for the Media Matters website, Vice President Harris definitely does understand the gravity of this situation, also clearly stating that Russia’s unilateral, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine constituted a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, and explained that sanctions were being put in place by the American government in an effort to levy consequences on Russia for the decision to invade an independent nation.

By all means scrutinise and criticise political leaders, which is exactly what should happen in a democracy, but please do so using accurate informatoin.