Vice President Kamala Harris issued a slew of false claims and hoaxes that ABC debate moderators did not fact check during Tuesday’s debate against former President Donald Trump.
Here are 21 false claims and hoaxes that Harris uttered on live television, in front of millions of Americans:
1. “Very fine people” hoax
Harris claimed Trump called neo-Nazis in Charlottesville “very fine people,” a widely known hoax that Democrats continue to repeat, despite it being debunked for years by numerous outlets, including by the left-wing fact checking website Snopes.
2. Project 2025 hoax
Harris accused Trump of wanting to implement Project 2025. This is false. Trump has repeatedly stated that he has nothing to do with it and hasn’t even read it.
Trump promptly corrected Harris on the debate stage, saying, “I have nothing to do — as you know, and as she knows, better than anyone — I have nothing to do with Project 2025. I haven’t read it, I don’t want to read it, purposely. I’m not going to read it.”
“I have nothing to do [with it],” Trump added. “Everybody knows I’m an open book. Everybody knows what I’m going to do: cut taxes very substantially, and create a great economy like I did before.”
3. False claims on Trump trade deficit
Harris claimed “the Trump administration resulted in a trade deficit” that was “one of the highest we’ve ever seen in the history of America.” This is patently false.
The trade deficit climbed to around $653 billion in Trump’s final year as president, in part because of depressed global demand for U.S. goods and services and a U.S. economy that recovered sooner than most other developed economies.
But the trade deficit never rose to the levels seen under former President George W. Bush or the Biden-Harris administration.
4. Putin can “do whatever the hell he wants”