A gunman opened fire on a July 4 parade at Highland Park, Illinois, killing seven and leaving at least 30 injured. The police have taken Bobby Crimo in custody, as a suspect, and he’s been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. The incident has turned the focus to gun control in the US, which was already at the forefront after the Buffalo and Uvalde killings. 

Vice President Kamala Harris met with officials in the northern Chicago suburb, a day after the incident and said “We’ve got to take this stuff seriously, as seriously as you are because you have been forced to take this seriously”. 

Jake Sheridan of the Chicago-Tribune shared the clip and critics were quick to mock Harris as the “word salad queen”. 

This isn’t the first time Harris has shown an affinity for a particular phrase. During the ASEAN summit in May, she repeated “work together” numerous times, confusing people. 

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“Our world is more interconnected and interdependent. That is especially true when it comes to the climate crisis, which is why we will work together, and continue to work together, to address these issues, to tackle these challenges, and to work together as we continue to work operating from the new norms, rules, and agreements, that we will convene to work together on to galvanize global action. With that I thank you all. This is a matter of urgent priority for all of us and I know we will work on this together”, US President Joe Biden’s number two said in the video. 

Critics have also noted that Harris’ response during the time the US offered to help Jamaica recover from the COVID pandemic also amounted to word salad. 

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Word salad refers to a confused and unintelligible combination of words and phrases, which are seemingly random. It is a form of speech associated with mental health issues such as advanced schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s.