President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ photo op with the Golden State Warriors took an awkward turn after Biden asked Harris to bend the knee.
During a ceremony for the Warriors on Tuesday, Biden and Harris stood in front of the team and discussed how they would pose.
Joe Biden elicits a reaction from the Golden State Warriors after he drops to one knee in front of Kamala Harris for a picture with the team.
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) January 17, 2023
Harris indicates "I'm not doing that" as she remains standing pic.twitter.com/Dw4GgeYodh
“I’ll tell you what,” Biden said to Harris before bending down on his right knee, making a thumbs up gesture. The vice president then laughed and said, “I’m not doing that.”
After the shot, the president stood up and moved into a crouching stance as the team let out a cheer. The Warriors have won four championships in eight years.
Netizens were quick to lampoon the embarrassing interaction, with many pointing out the symbolism of Biden kneeling before Harris.
“Notice Biden kneeling before Kamala Harris. This is subliminal messaging,” right-wing activist Louis Marinelli tweeted.
“Insightful messaging to have Biden kneel before Kamala Harris,” wrote One America News Network host Addison Smith.
Player Stephen Curry, however, defended Biden and said the image was now “iconic.”
“Very symbolic. I think it was an iconic moment in the sense of what that image means. But the fact that he would do it there, I don’t know how he’d put words to it but he’s just a humble server, man,” Curry told the San Francisco Chronicle. “That’s how you want anybody to approach the position that he’s in. That picture is going to be one to keep.”
Elsewhere in the ceremony, Biden again bumbled Harris’ name as he welcomed the Warriors to the White House.
“As Kamala said, we’re all closely monitoring the storms, the floods, the landslides all across California,” Biden said, saying the vice president’s name like “CAM-a-la” rather than the proper “COMMA-la.”
Curry, who was named MVP after the Warriors beat the Boston Celtics at the 2022 NBA championship, presented Biden and Harris with team jerseys and joked that he’d like to return to see them hanging in the Oval Office.
“We have two jerseys — a number 46 and a number 49 — that we would love to have you a part of Dub Nation forever,” he said. “And maybe find on the wall in the Oval Office or in your office.”
