Vice President Kamala Harris appeared to mouth the word “Ukrainian” after President Joe Biden referred to the people of Ukraine as “Iranians” in his State of the Union address Tuesday night.
“Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks, but he’ll never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people,” Biden said. Harris, seated behind Biden, then seemed to correct the mispronunciation, appearing to mouth, “Ukrainian.”
LMFAO Kamala appears to mouth “Ukrainian” when Joe Biden said Iranian.
pic.twitter.com/E28NEmiPOv— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 2, 2022
Biden dedicated the opening minutes of his speech to discussing the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. He stressed the unity of the West’s response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion and praised Ukrainian resistance to Russian forces.
“He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond,” Biden said of Putin. “And he thought he could divide us at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready.” (RELATED: ‘What I’ve Seen Is Not Leadership’: Donald Trump Jr. Rips Biden’s Handling Of Ukraine Crisis)
During the speech, Biden also announced he would close off U.S. airspace from Russian air travel.
“Tonight, I am announcing that we will join our allies in closing off American air space to all Russian flights, further isolating Russia and adding an additional squeeze on their economy,” Biden said.
Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova attended the speech.
Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last Thursday, calling on the country to “lay down its arms.” He also warned of “such consequences as you have never before experienced in your history” if there was interference, presumably referring to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the U.S.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted a request Monday for Ukraine to join the European Union immediately. “Our goal is to be together with all Europeans and, most importantly, to be on an equal footing,” he said in a video, according to The New York Times.