Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) seemed unfazed by former Vice President Joe Biden’s odd greeting at Wednesday night’s Democratic debate in which he called her “kid.”
“I didn’t really think much of it, to be honest with you,” Harris told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in an interview after the debate.
“We’re both on that stage running for president,” she added. “I’m pretty clear about who I am. So, nobody’s going to define me on that stage.”
Biden, in what has become a somewhat controversial exchange, told Harris to “Go easy on me, kid!” as the two took the stage for the debate. Both candidates laughed and shook hands, but some viewers saw Biden’s comment as patronizing.
“Yes, Joe Biden said, ’Go easy on me kid’ to Kamala Harris when they shook hands. Yes, that is totally obnoxious,” author Jessica Valenti tweeted.
Charlotte Clymer, head of communications for the Human Rights Campaign, asked in a tweet on Wednesday night: “Does he say ‘kid’ to grown male colleagues?”
Harris’ national press secretary, Ian Sams, also seemed bothered by the exchange when he retweeted Biden’s comments and simply wrote, “Kid?”
The two presidential contenders also faced off during a previous Democratic debate in June, when Harris confronted Biden on his past comments about segregation and school busing. She called out the former vice president for praising his ability to work with two Southern segregationist senators decades ago.
Although Biden initially defended his comments, he later said he regretted his remarks and apologized.