House Dem describes awkward past encounter with Harris: ‘She just walked away from me’

A House Democrat says, following Kamala Harris’ election loss, that the vice president once “walked away from me” and that “There was kind of an eye roll” during a past interaction she had with her in Washington, D.C. 

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez recounted her experience to the New York Times as the race for her seat in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District remains too close to call. As of Friday, with around 87% of the vote in, Gluesenkamp Perez leads her Republican challenger Joe Kent by nearly 11,000 votes. 

“When Harris first came out, I was open to talking with her. I know she called a lot of my colleagues; she never called me,” Gluesenkamp Perez said to the newspaper when asked for her thoughts on Harris’ presidential campaign. “I’ve had one interaction with Harris, at her Naval Observatory Christmas party.”

“I’m not super comfortable at that kind of thing. I’d had a couple of beers, and I noticed that almost all of the garlands were plastic. My district grows a hell of a lot of Christmas trees. I was strong-armed into taking a picture. I said, “Madam Vice President, we grow those where I live,’” Gluesenkamp Perez continued. “She just walked away from me. There was kind of an eye roll, maybe. My thinking was, it does matter to people where I live. It’s the respect, the cultural regard for farmers. I didn’t feel like she understood what I was trying to say.” 

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Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., left, and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Harris’ office did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Heading into Election Day, Gluesenkamp Perez’s campaign told Fox News Digital that she had “no plans” to endorse Harris. 

In July, Gluesenkamp Perez also had called for President Biden not only to drop out of the presidential race, but also to resign from his position as commander in chief. 

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Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a concession speech after the 2024 presidential election, on Wednesday, Nov. 6, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

“Americans deserve to feel their president is fit enough to do the job. The crisis of confidence in the President’s leadership needs to come to an end. The President should do what he knows is right for the country and put the national interest first,” she said at the time. 

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., is shown speaking at the U.S. Capitol on March 6. (Getty Images)

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When asked by the New York Times this week how Democrats should respond to Harris’ election loss, Gluesenkamp Perez, she said, “It’s a lot easier to look outward, to blame and demonize other people, instead of looking in the mirror and seeing what we can do. It is not fun to feel accountability. It requires a mental flexibility that’s painful. So, who knows?”