Kamala Harris encourages a nervous worker during his speech
"You’re teaching right now,” Harris said
Vice President Kamala Harris offered words of encouragement to a worker who nervously delivered remarks during her visit to the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative in Plymouth.
On Friday, Harris visited the business to promote President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal which is a part of the American Rescue Plan. She spoke to various leaders and workers including Jeff Bird, a line design technician.
Bird delivered remarks about expanding broadband, but got lost, saying, “Excuse me, I’m just really nervous.”
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“We need to know what you know, so you just tell us. Because we don’t know what you know. You’re teaching right now,” Harris said, encouraging Bird.
As Bird began to lose his train of thought during his delivery, Harris walked over to him to ease his nerves. She motioned towards the press, saying, “So all these guys, they may or may not understand what you do, but they need to understand what you do because what you do is so important. You are building up our country. You hear me? I’m serious. You are building up our country. So teach them what you know, cuz they don’t know, and they need to understand it.”
Bird could be heard telling Harris, “I appreciate that.”
“Last fall I was tasked with assisting our sub-contractors with building what we call a ‘backbone’ for our infrastructure. Specifically, we are attaching fiber to our existing utility poles and there’s currently an increasing demand for the high-speed internet in our rural areas,” Bird said. “This mostly due to demands relative to the past year where we did most of our work and education from home.”
At the end of the event, Harris walked over to Bird who said: “Thank you for talking me off the ledge.”
“You were so good. You were so good,” Harris told Bird, as she offered him an elbow bump. He admitted, “Public speaking is not my forte.”
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Biden’s infrastructure plan is an effort to “reenergize America’s power infrastructure.” The plan referenced the recent power outages in Texas which prove that “our aging electric grid needs urgent modernization,” according to a statement from The White House.
The plan includes a $100 billion proposal to create high-speed broadband across the country, according to Harris.
“Now, you have to have access to the internet,” Harris said during the visit. “We knew that before the pandemic, and it became an absolute necessity during the pandemic.”
GOP members criticized the visit because Harris didn’t visit the southern border which has been marred with controversy and an influx of migrants.
Harris was greeted by protestors urging her to visit the US-Mexico border with one sign reading, “Hey Kamala / Stop the illegal invasion / Go visit Mexico,” according to the New York Post.
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