A video of Vice President Kamala Harris embracing a crying woman on Saturday in Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state amid this year’s presidential election, has taken off online.
Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, will go toe-to-toe with former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, on Tuesday night on the ABC News debate stage for the first time. Nerves and excitement will be high that night as Americans tune in to the much-anticipated debate in Philadelphia, following a dismal performance from President Joe Biden in Atlanta in late June when he went up against Trump.
In a video posted to X, former Twitter, user Julia Hamelburg shared a video of Harris meeting with local citizens at a small business in Pittsburgh as she hugged a woman who began crying.
In the video, Harris can be seen embracing the woman and reassuring her that “we are going to be good, we are going to be fine. We are all in this together.”
As of Saturday afternoon, the video has garnered over 1.2 million views and has been shared by Kamala HQ on X where it has garnered over 325,000 views.
“Donald Trump could literally never. WATCH Kamala Harris steps out of debate prep in Pittsburgh to inspire the next generation, chat with voters, thank a teacher, and be a normal, wholesome person,” Hamelburg wrote on X as she shared the video.
Newsweek has reached out to Harris’ and Trump’s campaign via email for comment.
Donald Trump could literally never.
WATCH Kamala Harris steps out of debate prep in Pittsburgh to inspire the next generation, chat with voters, thank a teacher, and be a normal, wholesome person pic.twitter.com/kD3ZJaVRmv
— Julia Hamelburg (@juliahamelburg) September 7, 2024
In a campaign press release, the Harris campaign gave additional details surrounding the moment.
“During a visit to Penzeys Spices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Vice President Harris took a break from preparing for Tuesday’s debate to meet young people, teachers, families, and community members. In a personal exchange, she reminded a voter that she is in this fight with and for all of them. She also thanked a teacher, met a young consumer protection lawyer, and inspired a middle school student to be a leader,” the Harris campaign said.
The moment comes as Harris is on day two of a five-day working session in Pittsburgh, getting ready for Tuesday’s presidential debate against Trump.
Harris arrived at the Omni William Penn Hotel early Thursday afternoon as The New York Times reported on Saturday that Harris is “holed up” for five days in a hotel room in the city in preparation for the debate. While Harris’ debate prep is “highly choreographed,” as the Times put it, Trump’s campaign is not even calling it “debate prep” but rather “policy time” in which the former president has held a few sessions so far.