Presidential Debate: Fact Checks on Kamala Harris Lies and Claims
During the Presidential debate on Tuesday, Donald Trump fact-checked Vice President Kamala Harris’s claim that he cheered on and invoked the 2017 Charlottesville riot, stating that her narrative has already been “debunked” by a number of mainstream news networks.
“On Charlottesville, that story has been, as you would say, debunked,” Trump stated. “Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Jesse, all these people, they covered it. If they go an extra sentence, they will see. It was debunked in almost every newspaper, but they still bring it up.”
The accusations against Trump during the debate stem from the 2017 Charlottesville, North Carolina, march where “White Nationalists” were “spewing anti-Semitic hate,” which Harris and Biden have consistently falsely claimed that Trump supported at the time.
“Let’s remember Charlottesville, where there was a mob of people carrying tiki torches, spewing anti-Semitic hate. And what did the president, then at the time say? There were fine people on each side,” Harris stated during the debate.
In the August following the Charlottesville riots, Trump asserted: “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides.”
Trump also debunked Harris’s lie that claimed he said there would be a “bloodbath” if he does not win November’s presidential election. Harris deliberately took the comment out of context in an attempt to suggest that Trump would call for violence, should he lose the election.
“Donald Trump, the candidate, has said in this election, there will be a bloodbath if … the outcome of this election is not to his liking. Let’s turn the page on this. Let’s not go back. Let’s chart a course for the future and not go backwards to the past,” Harris falsely claimed.
“It was a term that related to energy, because they have destroyed our energy business. That was where the ‘bloodbath’ was,” Trump explained as soon as he was allowed to respond.
In the original quote, which Harris was pulling from, Trump stated, “Now if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole – that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That will be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell those cars. They’re building massive factories,” speaking on the auto industry.
Additionally, Harris continuously claimed that Trump personally produced the policies behind Project 2025, a claim which Trump debunked live during the debate, stating that he had nothing to do with the project.
However, on social media platforms, even when this fact is explained to Democrats, many tend to believe that there is a deeper conspiracy and hidden truth revolving around both Trump and the Heritage Foundation, and that Trump will impose all of the conservative think-tank’s proposals if re-elected.
“What you’re going to hear tonight is a detailed and dangerous plan called Project 2025 that the former president intends on implementing if he were elected again,” Harris urged.
It is also noteworthy to point out the ABC Newsmoderators of the debate, David Muir and Linsey Davis, interrupted Trump five times to provide “fact-checks,” yet they did not fact-check Harris once on any of her false claims.
Meanwhile, the New York Post provided many such instances of Harris’s false claims, since ABC News moderators refused to do so. Here are at least three notable Kamala statements worth diving into.
“Kamala claim #1: “As of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world, the first time this century.”
Fact check: Our troops in the Middle East are absolutely in a combat zone, under attack from Iran, which the Biden-Harris administration has allowed to grow more aggressive in its use of proxies. In January this year, three US soldiers in Jordan were killed by a drone attack from an Iran-aligned group, and dozens of others have been wounded in similar strikes.
Kamala claim #2: “Nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion. That is not happening.”
Fact check: As the Daily Signal points out, Minnesota had a 2015 law that required doctors to report whether abortions resulted in the live birth of a baby. In 2021, it happened at least five times, but no measures were taken to keep them alive. In 2023, Gov. Tim Walz stripped out that reporting requirement as part of an abortion law that has no limitations on how late in a pregnancy it may happen.
Kamala claim #3: “Let’s remember, this is the same individual who took out a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for the execution of five young black and Latino boys who were innocent, the Central Park Five. Took out a full-page ad calling for their execution.”
Fact check: Trump’s 1989 advertisement did not call for the execution of the Central Park Five. He talked about a woman raped in the park, but did not mention the names of suspects or who they were. Titled “Bring Back the Death Penalty. Bring Back the Police,” Trump simply bemoaned how generally unsafe New York City had become, and that criminals needed to be held accountable. His cri de cœur preceded what would become a general backlash against disorder in Gotham that led to the election of Rudy Giuliani as mayor and more proactive policing,” the New York Post reported.
Harris’s campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, was quick to call for a second debate.
“Under the bright lights, the American people got to see the choice they will face this fall at the ballot box: between moving forward with Kamala Harris, or going backwards with Trump,” Dillon stated. “That’s what they saw tonight and what they should see at a second debate in October. Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?”
Meanwhile, Trump is unsure if a second debate is necessary, stating he’s “less inclined to” debate again “because we had a great night.”
“They lost very badly, the first thing they did is ask for a debate,” Trump added. “They always ask for a rematch.”
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