Vice President Kamala Harris BOOED By Audience During Surprise March Madness Appearance In Iowa
March 17 2023, Published 8:00 a.m. ET
Vice President Kamala Harris was met with boos this week when she made a surprise appearance in Iowa to watch her alma mater compete in the NCAA’s March Madness tournament, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Harris, who graduated from Iowa’s Howard University in 1986, made a surprise appearance in Des Moines on Thursday night to watch the Howard Bison face off against the University of Kansas’ Jayhawks.
But while the 58-year-old vice president and her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, appeared excited to attend Thursday night’s March Madness game, the crowd was apparently disappointed to see her in the audience.
During the match’s second half, and before the Howard Bison suffered a devastating 68-96 loss against the Kansas Jayhawks, Harris was met with a stadium of boos when she appeared on the Wells Fargo Arena jumbotron.
“I mean, here we are in Des Moines. And they are a tough time, they work hard, they are so disciplined and it is a joy to watch them here in March Madness,” Harris said of her alma mater while a chorus of boos could be heard in the background. “So many of us who are here, we love our school.”
“And Howard University, I ran for my first office as freshman class representative and have always been part of the Howard community,” she continued, although the boos only appeared to grow louder. “And I'm sure that everyone who has a team understands what it means and the joy and the commitment that we have in the traditions and the loyalty to your team.”
According to Daily Mail, the March Madness crowd’s decision to boo Vice President Harris on Thursday night was likely due to the fact both Iowa and Kansas voted for then-President Donald Trump during the 2020 presidential election.
Although 44.9% of Iowa voters voted for Joe Biden and Harris in 2020, a whopping 53.1% voted for Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence.
Meanwhile, in Kansas, only 41.53% of voters voted for Biden and Harris while 56.18% voted for Trump and Pence.
But despite the chorus of boos targeted at Harris in Des Moines this week, the vice president nonetheless celebrated the importance of funding sports programs at universities throughout the nation – particularly at historically black colleges and universities such as Howard.
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“These sports programs need to be well resourced because when you look at the coaches like the coaches on the two teams that are here, they are investing in these students as a whole person, so yes it is about helping them be their best and most talented on the court,” Harris explained. “But, also off the court.”
“They're investing in these kids, they're investing in their education, they think about their life and all of the things that they bring to their time in school,” she concluded before getting back to watching the match.
“And I admire these coaches for really investing in our current future leaders.”
