By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-15 06:51:49 | Updated at 2025-01-15 10:43:56
4 hours ago
Kamala Harris has delivered one of her infamous 'word salad' messages to victims of the Los Angeles fires in the final days of the Biden administration.
The Vice President was attempting to call for patience as emergency services crews try to sift through the toxic rubble, ash and debris left in the wake of the wildfires.
But the precise message was lost in her rambling video, as she said: 'The work that still needs to be done to ensure the safety around utility lines, this work is still very much in progress and so it's critically important that to the extent you can find anything that gives you an ability to be patient in this extremely dangerous and unprecedented crisis, um that you do.'
Harris was holding a conference call from within President Joe Biden's office alongside reporters when she made the comments.
'Lots of people who still have a home who were under evacuation order, I know you want to get back home, but this is a time to be patient,' she said.
'There is still so much work that firefighters, police officers, FEMA and others are doing that is about search and rescue.'
Authorities have told residents that they intend to lift evacuation orders as early as Thursday morning, after a red flag weather warning for the region has lifted.
In the meantime, the threat of fire is still too great.
Kamala Harris has delivered one of her infamous 'word salad' messages to victims of the Los Angeles fires in the final days of her administration
Beach homes along the Pacific Palisades were entirely wiped out by the inferno
Authorities have also warned scorched communities are now rife with asbestos-filled ash and dangerous debris in amongst the carnage
Harris was holding a conference call from within President Joe Biden 's office alongside reporters when she made the comments
Pictured: A homeowner from Altadena clutches onto her cat after the fire tore through her neighborhood
Authorities have also warned scorched communities are now rife with asbestos-filled ash and dangerous debris in amongst the carnage.
Officials warned the ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.
Anish Mahajan of the LA County Public Health Department said on Tuesday: 'Ash is not just dirt.'
'It's hazardous fine dust that can irritate or harm your respiratory system and other parts of your body where it lands.'
Anyone with access to fire-ravaged communities are urged to wear masks to avoid inhaling the ash.
As access to these communities becomes easier, authorities are also bringing in cadaver dogs to search for human remains in the rubble.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna reminded impatient residents: 'We have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors.'
Harris' efforts to deliver the message were widely mocked on social media.
'Classic Kamala,' one critic said.
The Vice President was attempting to call for patience as emergency services crews try to sift through the toxic rubble, ash and debris left in the wake of the wildfires
In some areas, homeowners have been able to return to their properties to assess the damage, but huge swathes of land remain under mandatory evacuation orders
Firefighters set up to defend houses threatened by the Palisades Fire
'Be patient means the same thing but listen to this word salad instead,' another person added.
The outgoing Vice President was repeatedly criticized during her Presidential campaign for diluting her intended message by overcomplicating her speeches.
Over the Christmas period, she hosted a holiday reception for her supporters, urging them not to lose hope despite her devastating 2024 loss.
During a speech to mark the event, Harris urged her supporters not to succumb to defeat, disappointment and depression.
But it quickly derailed into her signature 'word salad' gibberish as she droned on about food and the importance of getting rest.
'Our work continues and so please everyone, look I know this election was not what we intended, certainly now what we wanted, I know there's a lot of emotion that we are all feeling right now. I get it,' she said with a knowing chuckle according to video clips published on social media.
'Please I have to just, I have to insist, that please do not let your spirit or your purpose be defeated,' she added.
Potentially her most famous 'word salad' is: 'We have dreams. We can see what is possible, unburdened by what has been.'
Authorities have told residents that they intend to lift evacuation orders as early as Thursday morning, after a red flag weather warning for the region has lifted
The outgoing Vice President was repeatedly criticized during her Presidential campaign for diluting her intended message by overcomplicating her speeches
The death toll is expected to continue to rise as authorities gain access to the smoldering sites ravaged by the fires
Some 12,300 structures have been wiped out in the carnage
Harris initially uttered the odd line when she spoke about what the word innovation meant to her during a March 2023 speech during a trip to Ghana.
Speaking at the time, she explained that innovation was 'one's ability not only to see, but to do things differently' and 'challenging the premise, questioning the status quo, and bold thinking,' and 'the pursuit of what can be unburdened by what has been.'
One of Harris' most confusing outbursts was to burst into laughter after uttering the phrase 'you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?', while giving a speech on equality and advancement for Hispanic people.
