US Vice President Kamala Harris got confused while pronouncing the oath of allegiance to the American flag. The awkward situation unfolded during the first session of the new US Senate, which began work on Friday.
According to the US Constitution, the speaker of the upper house of the US Congress is the vice president of the country. At the beginning of the session on Friday, Harris led the swearing-in of the new members of the Senate, elected in the elections on November 5, 2024. During the ceremony, members of the upper house of Congress traditionally take the oath of allegiance, which begins with the words: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America“.
According to footage broadcast by C-SPAN, Harris swore “loyalty to the United States“ during the oath, then hesitated and continued, repeating the name of her country, but never uttered the word “flag“. This attracted the attention of American media, including Fox News and Newsweek magazine, as well as social media users, who accused Harris of not knowing the text of the oath and called her mistake embarrassing for a politician who was the Democratic Party's candidate in the presidential election.
Current US President Joe Biden, a Democrat, will hand over the presidency to Republican Donald Trump on January 20.