Vice President Kamala Harris made history as she became the first sitting VP ever to attend a major Pride event.
Taking to the streets of Washington DC on Saturday, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, showed and voiced their support for members of the LGBTQ community by briefly attending the Capital Pride Walk and Rally.
While the Vice President was wearing a pink blazer and a shirt that read ‘love is love’, her husband donned a T-shirt that had ‘love first’ written all over it in Pride colors.
As Harris addressed the crowd, her security detail watched on closely and kept people from getting too close to the Vice President.
“We still have so much more to do,” Harris said as the crowd cheered her on.
“We need to make sure that our transgender community and our youth are all protected. We need, still, protections around employment and housing.
“There is so much more work to do, and I know we are committed. And we understand the importance of this movement and our roles of leadership in this ongoing movement.”
Signing off, the Vice President wished everyone happy Pride before taking off.
After the photos from the event went viral, critics were quick to slam Harris for putting her Secret Service agents in such a difficult position. Some have also questioned her priorities and pointed out how she failed to visit the border but had the time to attend a Pride parade.
“Secret service clearly not happy about protectee going for a walk,” the Lincoln Project founder George Conway tweeted.
“SS looks nervous. Can we blame them?” someone added.
Another person wrote: “The no-so-secret service guy is not ok with this stop.”
Meanwhile, other internet users took the time to praise the Secret Service for protecting the VP and ensuring her safety throughout the event.
“It’s awesome that they did this, but my first thought was for her detail — this kind of spontaneous public engagement (especially in a crowd that size) is anxiety inducing for the agents,” someone suggested.
“Incongruous Hipster secret service Dude ain’t messin! Thank You sir! Protect her at all costs!” another one said.
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