Spelling must be hard in the Big Easy.
Vice President Kamala Harris appeared at a New Orleans event over the weekend, and this time the gaffe was right behind her. The Pelican State was misspelled in big, bold letters just below Harris’s name and the vice presidential seal on the stage backdrop at the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans.
“Vice President Kamala Harris,” it read. “New Orleans Lousiana.”
Harris and actress Keke Palmer seemed oblivious to the missing letter “i” as they chatted about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, putting an end to the federal right to abortion after nearly 50 years.
Watching @KekePalmer interview @vp @kamalaharris at @essencefest. pic.twitter.com/JipJlzjkwy
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) July 2, 2022
“This is a serious matter,” Harris said. “It requires all of us to speak up, speak out and to be active. We have to recognize we’re a nation that was founded on certain principles that are grounded in the concept of freedom and liberty.”
Sharp-eyed Twitter users had a field day with the prominent typo, posting memes and misspellings to poke fun at the event organizers.
— The Right To Bear Memes (@grandoldmemes) July 4, 2022
“Bden Harrs,” read one.
“70 people on the Social Media team and not one knows how to Google or use spell check :-),” tweeted BryanH.
It was not clear who was responsible for the screwup, the hosts or Harris’s publicity team.
Palmer asked Harris what Americans can do now that abortion is no longer the law of the land.
“Don’t be overwhelmed to the point that we are disheartened and we think that we cannot do anything about it,” Harris said. “It’s the nature of it that these gains will not be permanent, so we must be vigilant and we must remember we’re always going to have to fight to maintain these rights.”
Harris, who was also slated to meet privately with leaders of pro-abortion groups, vowed to keep trying to help women in states that restrict or even ban abortions obtain them. In her closing remarks, she repeated her often-used quip about her own tenacity.
“I eat no for breakfast,” she said.