Kamala Harris engages with heckler during New York speech

Vice President Harris was interrupted by a heckler while giving a speech on the bipartisan infrastructure deal and the Biden administration’s Build Back Better agenda in New York on Friday.

The man in the audience interrupted Harris mid-sentence while she was talking about “better health, better jobs and about families” to state that better infrastructure would have stopped people drowning in their basements in Queens during Hurricane Ida earlier this year.

Harris briefly engaged with the man, telling him, “you are right, brother” and adding “you and I will talk after I give my comments, and I am happy to talk with you.”

The man responded with “Why aren’t we [U.S.] working with the Chinese on their Belt-and-Road initiative?” 

Harris said, “But right now, let’s talk about the agenda that will include speaking to all people and allowing everybody to be heard, because that’s part of what we want in our democracy. Everybody gets their chance to talk and everybody gets a chance to be heard.”

The heckler was escorted out by security.

WATCH: Kamala Harris gets heckled while delivering remarks in New York on President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. pic.twitter.com/hbCr4oIgqk

— The Hill (@thehill) October 22, 2021

Harris was joined by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra at the Northeast Bronx YMCA, where both officials delivered remarks on how the two spending packages can benefit working families.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday that Democrats are almost within striking distance of winning a long-sought agreement on President Biden‘s expansive domestic agenda.

“We had a very positive meeting this morning; I’m very optimistic,” she added after breakfasting at the White House. “It’s exciting, because whatever it is, it’s going to be bigger than anything we’ve ever done for the American people.”  

Biden’s massive Build Back Better plan, which expected to run into the trillions of dollars, has been stymied by a lack of support from two centrist Democratic senators, Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.). Without their backing, it cannot clear the upper chamber.