'Shrimp and Grits!': VP Kamala Harris Playfully Dodges Reporter's Questions About Hamas Cease-Fire Deal After Leaving Detroit Restaurant

Vice President Kamala Harris had a cheeky response for reporters when she was ambushed for an interview while picking up lunch.

The journalists caught the 59-year-old politician leaving Joe Louis Southern Kitchen in Detroit on Monday, May 6, intending to ask her about the recent news about a potential cease-fire with Hamas.

One man barely shouted "Madam Vice President-" when Harris lifted up her bag of food. "Shrimp and grits! You wanted to know?" she asked playfully, implying that they had been about to inquire about her lunch options.

The politician's response sparked a couple of short laughs, but the first journalist was not deterred. "Hamas says it accepted a cease-fire deal," he continued. "Your reaction?"

Harris did not respond to the question as she was ushered into a black SUV.

Critics of the Biden administration flooded social media to rebuke the vice president for her joking response. Some users called her a "disgrace" and accused her of "not being focused" on the country's issues. Another claimed she was "not a serious person."

But Harris is used to the criticism. On the Monday, April 29, episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, she revealed what it was like being the first woman Vice President of the United States.

"People who will be like, if you trip and fall, they’ll laugh with you, but then they’ll pick you back up and push you back out there," she told host Drew Barrymore. "That’s really important."

"You know, when we talk about our power, I believe one should try to never let anybody take your power from you," she continued. "And that includes knowing what is in your power to do and being intentional about it."

Aside with her views on political issues, Harris also noted that she's often teased for milder things, such as the way that she laughs.

"I have my mother’s laugh, and I grew up around a bunch of women, in particular, who laughed from the belly. They laughed," she explained. "They would sit around the kitchen and — drinking their coffee, telling big stories with big laughs."

Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for!

"I think it’s really important for us to remind each other and — and our younger ones: Don’t be confined to other people’s perception about what this looks like and how you should act in order to be," she continued. "It’s really important."