Kamala Harris adviser claims vice president's comment about guns was meant as a 'joke'

A campaign adviser for Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday clarified that a controversial comment the vice president made to Oprah Winfrey on Thursday was meant as a joke.

Harris claimed during a virtual town hall event that anyone who tried to break into her home would be "getting shot," which came after Winfrey expressed her surprise that Harris admitted to being a gun owner during the presidential debate on Sept. 10. 

Harris adviser Keisha Lance Bottoms said that the comment apparently about shooting someone was meant as a joke, and claimed that the comment "humanizes" the vice president.

“It was a joke, and she knew that we would still be talking about it today, but I think it‘s important that people know that the vice president respects the right to bear arms, that she supports the Second Amendment, but she wants responsible gun ownership and she wants our communities to be safe,” Bottoms told CNN's Jake Tapper Friday, according to The Hill.

Harris' running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has also spoken about owning guns in the past, and both candidates have indicated that they are not trying to eliminate the Second Amendment, but are instead pushing for gun control measures that are "common sense." 

The presidential debate was not the first time that Harris admitted to owning a gun. She previously made a comment about owning a gun when she was running for president in 2019.

“I am a gun owner, and I own a gun for probably the reason a lot of people do — for personal safety,” Harris said at the time. “I was a career prosecutor.”

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.