Outrage Ensued After GOP Senator’s Husband Didn’t Shake Kamala’s Hand
An awkward exchange between Vice President Kamala Harris and the husband of Sen. Debra Fischer during her Senate swearing-in ceremony sparked a firestorm. But the incident may have been more nuanced than it first appeared.
After Harris delivered the oath of office to Sen. Fischer, the two women shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. The Vice President then extended her hand to Bruce Fischer, standing next to his wife, holding a Bible in his left hand and a cane in his right. He nodded tersely to Harris and offered a perfunctory thank you but declined to shake her hand.
Unsurprisingly, everyone who witnessed the brief, unusual interaction between Fischer and Harris—whether in person or through the video that went viral—quickly formed their own opinions and took to social media to share them.
Many on the left were quick to label Fischer as racist. Responding to a post on X, Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost wrote, “I bet he misses the ‘good ole days.'”
Another wrote: “@SenatorFischer’s husband, Bruce, today refused to make eye contact with, or shake the hand of the Vice President of the United States. Regardless of her @VP title, this display is racist, misogynistic, and anti-Black. …”
In the X post below, one man describes the moment as evidence of MAGA supporters’ “anger, resentment, and bitterness.”
Another wrote: “What an absolutely pathetic display of fragility and hate. The bare minimum—shaking someone’s hand—is apparently too much for these people. This is cave-dweller behavior, plain and simple. No class, no decency, just pure spite.”
Journalist John Harwood responded to this post, calling Fischer “a small weak man of low character.”
In the following post, best-selling author Don Winslow takes aim at Sen. Fischer for allowing “another woman to be disrespected like that in front of their son?” (Their son, by the way, is a middle-aged man who is greying at the temples.)
And on it went.
Others, primarily conservatives, defended Fischer, noting that he simply didn’t have a free hand to return Harris’s handshake. Was he expected to let his cane drop to the floor? Should he have kept the Vice President waiting while he passed the Bible to his wife and shifted the cane from his right hand to his left?
The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway weighed in.
Hemingway added, “Also, if I may, sometimes days like this are a bit tiring and burdensome for all involved. If someone swearing in 100 people and greeting their families didn’t notice the cane, maybe cut them some slack. And if the husband seemed gruff, likewise, maybe cut him some slack.”
And a woman replied, “Watching the video I’m reminded of an elderly family member with balance and visual problems, looking down at the floor, hanging on to a cane and trying not to fall.”
Our own Mary Chastain smacked down journalist Roland Martin who called Fischer an a**hole. He deserved it.
While it’s impossible to know what was going through Fischer’s mind at that particular moment, I see an elderly man who appears painfully shy—and yes, elderly people can absolutely be painfully shy. In the video, he appears to be extremely ill at ease. He is likely unaccustomed to being the focus of media attention and wishes he were anywhere else that day.
Additionally, people use canes for stability; he wouldn’t rely on one if he didn’t need it. With both hands occupied, he offered Harris a polite nod and a thank you.
Yes, it was an incredibly awkward social interaction, but those interpreting it as an act of racism or hatred are reading far too much into a split-second in time.
Elizabeth writes commentary for The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Editorial Board at The Sixteenth Council, a London think tank. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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