One of Kamala Harris' staffers, Deputy Director for Operations David Gins, has decided to tweet that he "absolutely loves his job" as the VP's office struggles with an employee exodus. Yet, it appears that his tweet has convinced very few people.
"Hi. My name is David Gins. I work for Vice President Harris on behalf of the American people as Deputy Director for Operations and absolutely love my job. Just thought some of you should know", Gins tweeted, finalising his message with a smile emoji and attaching a picture of himself behind his desk.
Given the context, many users could not help but laugh at the tweet, offering Gins "help" in case he had tweeted "under duress". Some joked that he is being "held hostage" and tried to send a coded message.
Many people deconstructed the tweet and the picture, focusing on the way Gins is staring at his computer, satirically commenting that this is indeed the glance of a person who loves their job.
The post that prompted such a wave of sarcasm was even brought to the attention of White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who had to weigh in to try and defend the vice president's teetering reputation as a boss.
"I'm not aware of any asks for a positive tweet or specific tweet", Psaki said when asked about whether Gins was instructed to tweet in favour of Harris. "I would point you to the vice president's office, but I work with a number of people in the vice president's office who certainly are looking forward to continuing their jobs".
The vice-presidential office has recently seen an exodus, with several top staffers announcing their resignations. Among them are her longtime aide Symone Sanders, communications director Ashley Etienne, director of press operations Peter Velz, and deputy director of public engagement Vince Evans. Aside from this, a cavalcade of media reports has suggested that Harris' leadership style is questionable: beginning with allegations of a toxic work environment in July, it escalated into revelations by anonymous current and former staffers about the VP being a "bully" blasting her employees with "soul-destroying criticism".
Some people, however, insist that the allegations stem from the "racism and sexism" that Harris faces as the first woman and first person of colour to assume the vice presidency. Many staffers also argued that, while Harris can sometimes "call bulls***", she has never been "unfair" as a boss.