On Tuesday morning, the secrecy surrounding the White House’s persisted as Vice President Kamala Harris’ scheduled departure from Singapore became delayed for undisclosed reasons.
Bloomberg reported that Harris’ flight out of Singapore has been delayed and it remains unclear how long she would stay in the said Asian country.
The news outlet also reported that she was set to leave Singapore on Tuesday more than two hours after she was originally scheduled to depart, per a White House official. The reason for the delay has not been specified, nor why it has not been disclosed to the public.
The Bloomberg report also stated that Harris was supposed to leave Singapore for Vietnam in the second leg of his Southeast Asian trip at 4 p.m. local time. The reporters who have been following the vice president around were also abruptly sent back to their hotel not long following 3:30 p.m., even after they were already on vans headed to Paya Lebar Air Base.
“While presidential and vice-presidential trips can often run behind schedule, a delay of this type is unusual,” Bloomberg further noted.
Details of Kamala Harris’ Delayed Departure from Singapore to Be Revealed in the Near Future
Harris has made waves by pushing through with the trips to Singapore and Vietnam. Not long before this trip, a foreign crisis involving the U.S. in Afghanistan has erupted. On Monday, while in Singapore, Harris decided to dodge any questions from reporters about the situation in Afghanistan, only providing indirect answers at most.
“So, I understand and appreciate why you asked the question. And I think there’s going to be plenty of time to analyze what has happened and what has taken place in the context of the withdrawal from Afghanistan,” the vice president told reporters. “But right now, we are singularly focused on evacuating American citizens, Afghans who worked with us, and Afghans who are vulnerable, including women and children,” she went on to say.
The vice president also decided to add some rosy flare when talking about the situation in Afghanistan, doing so by boasting about the “successful drawdown” of the embassy in Kabul.
She claimed, “On the issue of Afghanistan, and to that end, we have seen a successful drawdown of the embassy.”
Prior to her Singapore trip, Harris had been confronted in connection to the foreign policy issue related to Afghanistan. As she approached reporters, her demeanor shifted from mirth to sobriety when talking about the situation.
Harris told the reporters that they couldn’t have any other higher priority at the moment. “In particular, our priority is making sure that we safely evacuate American citizens. Afghans who worked with us. Afghans at-risk, including women and children. And that is one of our highest, if not our highest priority right now.”
During her trip to Singapore, however, the vice president mainly focused on how China is threatening Taiwan following the fiasco in Afghanistan. She pointed out the obvious belligerence that China has showcased.
“Beijing’s actions continue to undermine the rules-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations,” Harris said.
Up to the present, the White House has remained secretive when it comes to official visits and travels, which is understandable, to a certain degree, due to security concerns. However, President Joe Biden has also traveled to Delaware 18 different times – one of which was in the midst of the Afghanistan incident – and the White House still refuses to show visitor logs.
The true reason for the delay in the vice president’s departure from Singapore may be revealed soon. However, as of this writing, that reason remains unknown, which makes sense, given the current administration’s lack of transparency.
Up Next
