Mainstream Media Fact-Checkers Critique Kamala Harris' DNC Speech
Kamala Harris, whose campaign heavily relies on outward appearances, delivered a speech on Thursday night that fell flat, even with her most ardent supporters.
The Democratic presidential nominee, who has never garnered votes outside California in any election, addressed the audience at the Democratic National Convention at Chicago’s United Center. Despite her attempts to feign camaraderie with the loyal crowd, Harris made statements so inaccurate that even the mainstream media's “fact-checkers” couldn’t overlook them.
From former President Donald Trump’s stance on abortion to his foreign policy and tax policies, Harris presented a series of misleading claims about her Republican opponent, according to analyses by traditionally liberal outlets like The Washington Post, The New York Times, and USA Today.
While these outlets didn’t delve into Harris’ potential motives, even an American with minimal political knowledge could deduce the intent: to provide viewers with a skewed perspective of Trump’s policies.
As USA Today highlighted, Harris falsely claimed Trump intended to establish a national “anti-abortion coordinator.” The outlet clarified that Harris was twisting an idea from the conservative Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025,” which Trump has not endorsed.
Glenn Kessler, a fact-checker at The Washington Post who has often shown leniency towards the Biden-Harris administration, also pointed out Harris’ inaccuracies regarding Trump’s views on NATO, Russian aggression, and the effects of the 2017 Trump tax cuts.
One particularly glaring falsehood was Harris’ assertion that Trump “encouraged” Russian President Vladimir Putin to “invade our allies.” Trump never encouraged Putin to invade any country, and many Americans recall that Putin refrained from such actions during Trump’s presidency. It was, in fact, Joe Biden who witnessed Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Trump has advocated for European allies to contribute fairly to a defense largely funded by American taxpayers—a stance that seems only problematic to Democrats.
Harris wasn’t alone in spreading misinformation at the convention. The New York Times, a publication far from conservative, compiled a list of other Democratic speakers who also misrepresented Trump’s record.
The significance here isn’t just that Harris misled the public about Trump. Democrats and their media allies have done so since Trump announced his presidential bid in 2015. What stands out is that, for once, some media outlets deviated from their usual protection of Harris and temporarily exposed the deceptive nature of her campaign.
Harris is essentially a candidate designed to look good in contrast to the often-rambling Biden. However, even this minimal expectation seems challenging for her to meet at times.
After nearly four unremarkable years as vice president, Harris was given an opportunity to reintroduce herself to the American public, aided by a mainstream media eager to defeat Trump in November. In essence, she was given a chance to make a second first impression on voters.
But on Thursday night, even her allies in the mainstream media weren’t fully convinced.
Come November, American voters should see through the façade.