Climate change warrior and gun control advocate Kamala Harris visited Miami last week to unveil her $562million investment towards ‘climate resilience’ – but not without a 24-vehicle motorcade and fleet of US Coast Guard response boats armed with high-powered rifles.
The vice president, who attended a Miami Beach climate summit in March, returned to the city last Friday to announce plans for the multi-million-dollar project aimed at ‘protecting local economies and the marine ecosystem’ in states susceptible to extreme weather events.
But despite underscoring the urgency to act on the ‘profound threat’ of what she dubbed a ‘climate crisis’, Harris herself drew attention to her own carbon footprint after flying in on Air Force Two and traveling to the event in a convoy of gas-guzzling SUVs.
Vice President Kamala Harris is seen being ushered by her motorcade and security detail before speaking at the University of Miami, where she announced a $562million climate investment last Friday
While the VP has positioned herself as a champion of climate change issues and had traveled to Miami to unveil her latest initiative, she was seen arriving in a 24-vehicle motorcade that disrupted traffic
Photos and videos obtained by DailyMail.com showed Harris’s security detail covered land, air, and sea, with a fleet of US Coast Guard response boats patrolling the waters
Photos and video footage obtained by DailyMail.com also showed the VP’s security detail had covered land, air, and sea around the University of Miami’s Marine Center in Virginia Key, with several USCG and Customs and Border Protection boats also deployed to the scene, in addition to local police, and Secret Service patrolling the waters on Biscayne Bay.
Not only did the two-hour event require the deployment of multiple security vehicles and vessels, law enforcement members were also seen guarding the area armed with the same rifles Harris has vowed to ban.
While it’s common for the president and vice president’s security detail to be equipped with such weapons, Harris – who has repeatedly called for tougher firearm laws and has positioned herself as a champion of climate issues – is yet to address her own conflicting behavior.
During a last-minute trip to Tennessee in the wake of the Nashville school shooting earlier this month, the vice president criticized the Republican-controlled state House while calling for background checks, red flag laws, and restrictions on assault rifles.
Harris landed in South Florida on Air Force Two before being transported to the venue in a fleet of SUVs
There was also a heavy police and Secret Service presence guarding the venue where Harris spoke, with the vice president’s convoy of cars and security detail shutting down the main road for several minutes, witnesses told DailyMail.com
Video footage obtained by DailyMail.com showed the procession of vehicles from multiple law enforcement agencies arriving in Virginia Key, Florida
Members of the US Coast Guard were also seen protecting the area, armed with the same rifles Harris has vowed to ban
While it’s common for the president and vice president’s security detail to be equipped with such weapons, Harris has repeatedly called for tougher firearm laws
On Friday, she said the funding for the climate change initiative, which will be spread across 30 states, is an example of how climate investments boost job creation and manufacturing while tackling a major environmental issue.
‘The climate crisis represents a profound threat, as we all know, to our nation and to the world. And every community is at risk,’ she said.
‘When we invest in climate, we not only protect our environment, we also strengthen our economy,’ she added in a tweet during her Miami visit.
There was also a heavy police and Secret Service presence guarding the venue where Harris spoke, with the VP’s fleet of cars and security shutting down the main road for several minutes, witnesses told DailyMail.com.
Ironically, the US Customs and Border Protection agency was also deployed to the scene, in addition to the Coast Guard, local police, and Secret Service
Harris’s trip coincided with President Biden’s signing of an executive order that the White House said will direct federal agencies to put more focus on environmental polices that do harm to communities
The trip coincided with President Biden’s signing of an executive order that the White House said will direct federal agencies to put more focus on environmental polices that do harm to communities.
Her visit also comes as South Florida struggles with gas shortages after flooding last week disrupted deliveries and prompted some panic buying at the pump.
The climate investment aims to help 149 coastal communities across 30 states and territories prepare for increased flooding, sea-level rise and more intense storms, the Commerce Department said in a statement.
It is targeted at protecting local economies and the marine ecosystem and will include ‘nature-based infrastructure projects’ to shore up communities’ ability to respond to extreme weather events, it said.
