(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Vice President Kamala Harris left a Muslim podcast host baffled after she praised the flavor of bacon during an interview that was never published. In Islam, consuming pork is strictly forbidden.
During the unusual exchange, Harris suggested bacon could be used as a “spice” to flavor certain foods, leaving host Kareem Rahma, whose Instagram show Subway Takes has garnered millions of views, visibly taken aback.
“I don’t know,” Rahma replied, according to a Monday interview with The New York Times.
“Think about it, it’s pure flavor,” Harris replied.
In a bid to steer the conversation, Rahma asked Harris if turkey or beef could serve as alternatives, and pressed her about specific meals where bacon might be used.
According to The Times, Rahma then paused the interview to tell Harris he does not eat pork and asked if they could discuss a prearranged topic.
A Harris staffer intervened, apparently telling Harris to mention her supposed love for anchovies on pizza. Rahma was equally puzzled.
“Well, I’m 100 percent unsure on both of those,” he said with an awkward laugh.
To make matters worse, Harris’s team had also barred any discussion of the Israeli-Hamas war, a topic Rahma had expressed his interest in.
“It was so complicated because I’m Muslim and there’s something going on in the world that 100 percent of Muslims care about,” Rahma told The Times. “And then they made it worse by talking about anchovies. Boring!”
In response, the Harris campaign offered an apology and reportedly proposed a retake of the interview—an offer Rahma ultimately declined.
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Harris’s bacon comment wasn’t new, as seen in a video shared by journalist Charlie Spiering on X.
She had previously boasted about the flavor in a 2019 interview during her failed bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In late 2019, Kamala Harris tried to post fun campaign videos of her cooking to get around the media filter that her campaign was a flop. That's where she kicked off the "bacon is a spice" take. pic.twitter.com/3vMeoBeQCY
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 4, 2024