- Unemployment: Harris claimed Trump left the worst unemployment since the Great Depression. This was inaccurate, as the rate was 6.4% when he left office, lower than the 10% peak during the 2009 Great Recession. Was 3.4% in February 2020 (Pre-pandemic).
- Abortion Ban: Harris stated Trump would sign a national abortion ban. Trump has said he would leave this decision to the states, not implement a federal ban. Review 2024 abortion platform
- Tariff Impact on Families: Harris claimed Trump’s tariffs would cost middle-class families around $4,000 annually. While some estimates support this figure, others, like those from the Peterson Institute, suggest lower impacts. It is important to note that Biden-Harris have added up to $15,000 to the cost of living since 2021 annually for all Americans
- Project 2025: Harris claimed that Trump intends to implement Project 2025, a conservative policy plan. Trump has continuously denied being involved with the creation of Project 2025, Was unfamiliar with who created it at the time and has disavowed many policies in it.
- Border Security Bill: Harris claimed Trump “killed” a bipartisan border security bill. While Trump did oppose it, the bill’s defeat was more complex, involving broader political and financial factors. This Senate Border Bill was not in the national interest.
- Climate Investments: Harris claimed historic investments in clean energy. While the U.S. has made significant investments, her claim was framed without fully acknowledging the ongoing reliance on fossil fuels.
- Military Deployments: Harris suggested no U.S. troops are in combat zones for the first time in this century, which was inaccurate, as U.S. troops remain in Iraq and Syria.
- Central Park Five: Harris stated that Trump called for the execution of the Central Park Five. While Trump did take out a full-page ad calling for the death penalty, it didn’t explicitly name the Five.
- Fracking: Harris claimed that she never opposed fracking. In reality, she had previously supported a ban on fracking during her 2020 presidential campaign, though she changed her stance when she became Biden’s running mate.
- Job Loss: Harris claimed that Trump’s immigration policies directly led to significant job losses in specific sectors. This claim is misleading, as job losses during the pandemic were driven by a variety of factors.
- Middle-Class Economic Policies: Harris suggested Trump’s tax plan disproportionately hurt the middle class. While some economists argue this, the impact was more complex, affecting various income groups differently.
- Immigration – Kamala Harris suggested that Trump’s immigration policies directly caused mass deportations and family separations. While the “zero tolerance” policy did lead to family separations, the situation is more nuanced, involving legal and systemic factors predating Trump’s presidency.
- ‘Middle-Class Kid’ – Harris claimed that she grew up a “middle-class kid.” That is not true. As previously noted by journalist Megyn Kelly, Harris’ father was a professor at Stanford University, while her mother was a biomedical scientist at UC Berkley.
- Trump ‘Sales Tax’ – Harris claimed Trump will implement a “sales tax.” Trump has not pledged to do such a thing if elected president.
- Jan. 6 – Harris contended that the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was the “worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.” Contrary to Harris’ claim, the J6 events did not put American self-governance in jeopardy, nor did it expose Americans to risks like those experienced during World War I, the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, or World War II, to name a few.
- Just Restoring Roe – When asked about abortion restrictions, Kamala Harris avoided specifics and emphasized her support for reinstating Roe v. Wade. However, she also endorsed legislation like the “Women’s Health Protection Act,” which could allow abortions throughout all nine months of pregnancy. Additionally, Harris co-sponsored earlier versions of this legislation and voted against protections for babies born alive after failed abortions.
- Pro-Life Laws Criminalize Miscarriages, Ectopic Pregnancies – Harris claimed that some states’ pro-life laws, which she referred to as “Trump abortion bans,” criminalize healthcare providers and offer no exceptions for cases like rape or incest. In reality, these laws target elective abortions and do not penalize treatments for miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies. Furthermore, every existing pro-life policy includes exceptions when the life of the mother is at risk.
- Ninth Month Abortions Don’t Exist – Harris claimed that women do not seek abortions late in pregnancy, calling it “insulting” to suggest otherwise. However, CDC data shows that thousands of abortions are performed after 21 weeks gestation. This number is likely higher, as data from states like California and Maryland is not included, though late-term abortions make up 1% of total abortions in the U.S.
- SCOTUS Immunity Ruling – Harris mischaracterized the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity, claiming it would make Trump immune from misconduct if re-elected. In reality, the court ruled that a president has “absolute immunity” for official acts but no immunity for unofficial acts. The case was remanded to lower courts to determine whether Trump’s actions, as alleged by Special Counsel Jack Smith, are considered official acts.
- Minnesota Rioters Bail Fund – During the debate, Kamala Harris denied supporting efforts to bail out rioters from the 2020 George Floyd protests. However, she promoted the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which raised $35 million in donations. This fund helped release individuals arrested during the protests, including those accused of serious crimes such as rioting, assault, and sexual offenses. Critics highlighted that her support indirectly aided those involved in the unrest, which caused an estimated $2 billion in damages across multiple cities, including Minneapolis.
- Trump’s Role in J6 – Harris claimed that Trump “incited” the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
That is false. Trump specifically told protestors to “peacefully and patriotically make [their] voices heard” and sought to deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to the Capitol ahead of Congress’s certification of the 2020 election results. - ‘Fine People’ Hoax – Harris repeated the debunked lie that Trump praised white supremacists marching in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 when he said there were “fine people on both sides.
This is false, as Trump was referring to both sides of the debate on whether to allow historic monuments to remain standing. - ‘Bloodbath’ Hoax – Harris regurgitated the false narrative that Trump claimed there would be a “bloodbath” if he loses this November.
The vice president took Trump out of context. The 45th president was not calling for violence but was discussing the economic disaster that awaits Americans if Democrats win the election. - Trump’s NATO Comments – Kamala Harris mischaracterized Trump’s NATO remarks, suggesting he told Russia to “do whatever the hell [it] wants” regarding Ukraine. In reality, Trump’s comments were about withholding U.S. protection from a NATO member that wasn’t meeting its defense spending obligations. He recalled telling the NATO member that if they didn’t pay, the U.S. wouldn’t protect them, encouraging them to handle their own defense. Harris took this story out of context to frame Trump’s stance on Ukraine inaccurately.
- Autocrats’ Preferences for President – Harris claimed that the world’s autocratic leaders are pulling for Trump to win. While there is no definitive way for Harris to know this for most leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin did publicly throw his support behind Harris’ presidential bid last week.
- Blaming Trump for Biden’s Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal – Harris attempted to pin the Biden-Harris administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal, which got 13 U.S.service members killed, on Trump.
“Donald Trump, when he was president, negotiated one of the weakest deals you can imagine,” Harris claimed.
That isn’t true. According to a report recently released by Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, “The evidence proves President Biden’s decision to withdraw all U.S. troops was not based on the security situation, the Doha Agreement, or the advice of his senior national security advisors or our allies. Rather, it was premised on his longstanding and unyielding opinion that the United States should no longer be in Afghanistan.” - Trump’s Foreign Policy Record – Harris claimed, “Donald Trump is weak and wrong on national security and foreign policy.”
That is false. Under Trump’s administration the U.S. southern border was secure, and America facilitated multiple peace agreements between Israel and Arab states. Under the Biden-Harris administration, Russia invaded Ukraine, Iran-backed Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel, and China has ramped up its threats toward Taiwan, the Philippines, and Japan. - Defunding the Police – Harris shook her head and claimed, “That’s not true,” when confronted by Trump over her past support for defunding the police.
As noted by ABC News, however, Harris previously expressed support for “reimagin[ing]” policing and “redirect[ing] resources” from police toward what the outlet described as “other areas of government [such as] schools and small businesses.” - IVF – In an attempt to link Democrats’ abortion goals with in vitro fertilization, Harris claimed that “under Donald Trump’s abortion bans … couples who pray and dream of having a family are being denied IVF treatments.”
Trump, however, has openly touted IVF and even promised that he would make the government and or insurance companies fund it.