Vice President Kamala Harris recently found herself at the center of a social media spectacle following a visit to Hemlock Semiconductors in Saginaw, Michigan, where her curiosity about a “shiny” piece of silicon led to an awkward exchange with factory employees.
Harris, whose campaign schedule has intensified as the 2024 presidential election nears, was touring the facility when she reached out toward a silicon rod and asked, “Can I touch it?”
The reaction from factory staff was swift and direct: “No! Do not touch it!” An employee cautioned that the poly material was “very sharp,” prompting Harris to retract her hand with a laugh, admitting, “I’m glad I asked.”
The moment didn’t end there, as Harris chuckled about the material being “shiny,” inadvertently giving her critics an easy target to compare her to TV characters and caricatures.
The exchange, captured on video, quickly circulated across social media platforms, with conservative commentators and political observers jumping in to poke fun at the incident. Conservative strategist Steve Guest humorously compared Harris’s interaction to a scene from VEEP, the satirical TV show in which the fictional Vice President Selina Meyer is portrayed as comically out of her depth.
Others echoed the sentiment, with former Trump campaign staffer Kaelan Dorr quipping, “We can’t give DeeDee from Dexter’s Lab the nuclear codes,” implying that Harris’s reaction was out of place in a high-stakes environment.
“Can I touch it?” https://t.co/JKjfEpDVYP pic.twitter.com/8ELpaG83B0
— Steve Baker – TPC (@TPC4USA) October 29, 2024
For Harris, the moment—though lighthearted—has taken on a life of its own, casting an unintended spotlight on her public persona. Her critics argue that her fascination with the “shiny” material came across as unprepared and even out of touch, contrasting sharply with the serious setting of a semiconductor plant, where safety and technical precision are paramount.
With staff members wearing hard hats and strict protocols in place, Harris’s candid curiosity was quickly criticized by those who saw it as another “gaffe” from a candidate whose public interactions have occasionally sparked scrutiny.
