Vice President Kamala Harris skirted a question about inflation and gas costs from a reporter on Friday, instead responding to a question aimed at Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
On Friday, Harris spoke at a joint press conference at Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest, Romania, to show support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Ukraine. A reporter questioned Iohannis if more US soldiers and defense aid are needed to tackle the grave threat Romania faces in the Black Sea.
“And if I can ask you, Madame Vice President, President Biden has said that Americans will feel some pain for the sake of defending freedom and liberty. But there does seem to be no endgame in sight. How long should Americans expect, how long should we be bracing for this historic inflation and some unprecedented gas prices?” an Associated Press reporter questioned Harris.
“In terms of the discussions that the president Iohannis had, they ranged in subject including the issue of the Black Sea and I’ll let him explain in more detail as he would like. But we are, again, fully aware and apprised because we are in constant communication with the president, with his administration here about the concerns that they have about the entire region and frankly the vulnerability.”
The vice president went on to say that it was hard to witness Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military men commit atrocities in Ukraine. She stated that Ukrainians want to live in their own nation, be proud of themselves, and be able to raise their family in their own towns while speaking their native language.
The vice president mentioned the over 2.5 million refugees who have fled to neighboring countries with nothing but a backpack in recent weeks, as well as the bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol, which left three people dead and 17 injured.
Inflation hit a new four-decade high on Thursday, with the Consumer Price Index rising 0.8 percent in February, bringing the year-over-year increase to 7.9%. On Saturday, gas prices surpassed $4 per gallon for the first time in US history.
