Howard University appeared in the NCAA Tournament Thursday for the first time since 1992.
For its game against Kansas, the school welcomed its most prominent alum: Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris traveled to the area to discuss abortion with local leaders. Later that day, she made a surprise appearance at the basketball game… and she was met with boos and jeers from the crowd, according to reports from the Associated Press.
The vice president appeared on the jumbotron during the game… and the audience offered more boos than applause, according to the AP.
Some attendees posted videos of the vice president. Unfortunately, any booing remains inaudible.
Howard University was playing at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, a world away from its campus in the nation’s capital. Iowa voted against the Biden-Harris ticket by nine points. It’s no wonder that they would jeer at Kamala Harris!
Of course, Harris manages to embarrass herself even in front of more sympathetic crowds. She’s earned the nickname “Selena Harris,” after the fictional vice president from the sitcom Veep.
On Thursday, Harris appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She compared her week to a situational gag typical of Veep… and she didn’t seem to have enough self-awareness.
Take a look —
Kamala Harris confirms what we already know: her vice presidency is an episode of Veep pic.twitter.com/RZpUqd2xkJ
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 16, 2023
Kamala Harris was booed by the crowd at a surprise March Madness appearance in Iowa as she watched her alma mater Howard University fall to Kansas, according to the AP. 😂 pic.twitter.com/gnZakJOhXa
— Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) March 17, 2023
The vice president watched Howard’s 96-68 first-round loss to Kansas from a suite at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday afternoon and met with the team afterward.
As supporters in the hallway chanted “H-U, you know!” players trickled into the locker room. Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, walked in a few minutes later.
“You played hard. You played to the very last second. You made all us Bisons proud,” Harris said, according to the press pool account of her address of the players. “You are smart. You are disciplined. You put everything you had into the game. You guys did not stop, and that is so inspiring. So you keep playing with chin up and shoulders back because you showed the world who Bison are.”
Harris graduated from the historically Black university in 1986, and she said she has heard alumni all over the world talking about their pride in the team.
“So I know you may not be feeling great right now, OK, but know who you are,” Harris said. “You are excellence. You are hard work. You are powerful, and you are winners.”
Take a look —
Vice President Kamala Harris Delivers The Postgame Speech To Howard Men’s Basketball Team pic.twitter.com/yCNXolQPmA
— LIGHT ON COLLEGE SPORTS (@LightOnSports) March 16, 2023
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.