Implementing destructive policies isn’t the only thing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have in common. Following the latter’s acceptance speech during Thursday’s Democratic National Convention, it’s clear America’s vice president has learned a thing or two about lying from her senile boss.
From abortion to immigration, Harris parroted numerous falsehoods about her record and that of Donald Trump. In case you missed her lackluster screed, here’s a definitive list of the Democrat presidential nominee’s biggest whoppers.
[RELATED: Tracking Kamala Harris’ Biggest And Baddest Lies: 20 And Counting]
1. Jan. 6
Vice President Kamala Harris falsely claimed that Donald Trump “sent an armed mob to the U.S. Capitol” on Jan. 6. 2021, and further accused the former president of “fann[ing] the flames” after “politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help.”
That is false. During his J6 speech, Trump specifically telegraphed to protestors to “peacefully and patriotically make [their] voices heard.” Trump also released a video calling for peace during the riot and had previously sought to deploy thousands of National Guard members to the Capitol ahead of the demonstrations.
2. Supreme Court ‘Presidential Immunity’ Decision
Kamala Harris distorted the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision on presidential immunity by claiming the decision means Trump “would be immune from criminal prosecution.”
“His explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents and anyone he sees as the enemy. His explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens,” Harris contended in a hyperbolic fashion. “Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States.”
The vice president’s claim is misleading at best. While a majority of justices determined that presidents possess “absolute immunity” for “actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority” and “at least presumptive immunity” for “official acts,” they separately noted that “[t]here is no immunity for unofficial acts.”
The justices further remanded the Biden-Harris Justice Department’s get-Trump lawfare back to the lower courts to determine whether the actions alleged by Special Counsel Jack Smith constitute “official acts.”
3. Trump’s Record on Entitlements
Kamala Harris claimed Donald Trump “tried to cut Social Security and Medicare.” Even The Washington Post’s so-called “fact-checkers” rated a previous version of this claim from the Harris-Walz campaign as “misleading.”
4. School Funding Statistics
During her DNC speech, Kamala Harris attacked Donald Trump for pledging to get rid of the Department of Education.
“We are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools,” Harris said.
As the left-wing “fact-checkers” would say, this statement “needs context.” While the federal government does finance public school systems, those funds typically account for less than 10 percent of taxpayer monies given to schools in a given year. During the 2019-2020 school year, for example, “47.5% of funding came from state governments, 44.9% came from local governments, and the federal government provided about 7.6% of school funding,” according to USA Facts.
5. ‘Middle Class’ Roots
Kamala Harris falsely claimed that she came from the “middle class.” 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.
6. Trump’s Tax Cuts
Kamala Harris falsely insinuated that the 2017 tax cuts approved by the Trump administration disproportionately benefited America’s wealthiest citizens.
“[Trump] fights for himself and his billionaire friends,” Harris claimed. “And he will give them another round of tax breaks that will add up to $5 trillion to the national debt.”
That is not true. Data produced by the IRS has shown that “on average all income brackets benefited substantially from the Republicans’ tax reform law, with the biggest beneficiaries being working and middle-income filers, not the top 1 percent,” according to The Hill.
7. Trump’s Tariff Policies
Kamala Harris claimed Donald Trump intends to impose a “national sales tax” on Americans that she contended will “raise prices on middle-class families by almost $4,000 a year.”
This claim is misleading and needs context. It appears Harris is citing figures from the left-wing Center for American Progress Action Fund, which, according to The New York Times, estimated that a potential policy “floated” by Trump to raise tariffs to 10 percent on most imports and at least 60 percent on Chinese imports could cost American families $3,900 a year.
Other economic groups cited by the Times predict such policies would cost less than the figures estimated by the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
8. Nature of Abortion
The vice president falsely asserted that signing a federal law authorizing abortions nationwide would “restore reproductive freedom.” As The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd accurately noted, however, the law would actually “subject thousands of babies and women, nearly 70 percent of whom felt their abortions were forced, unwanted, or contradicted their views, to harm.”
9. GOP Pro-Life Laws
Kamala Harris falsely claimed that Republican pro-life laws that protect thousands of unborn babies from elective abortions bar doctors from treating women dealing with a pregnancy-related health issue, such as a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy.
“I will tell you, over the past two years, I’ve traveled across our country, and women have told me their stories. Husbands and fathers have shared theirs. Stories of women miscarrying in a parking lot, developing sepsis, losing the ability to ever again have children, all because doctors are afraid they may go to jail for caring for their patients. Couples just trying to grow their family, cut off in the middle of IVF treatments,” Harris claimed.
As The Federalist previously reported, “[t]here is a clear legal distinction between an induced abortion, which deliberately intends to end the life of the baby, and the medically classified ‘spontaneous abortions’ such as an ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, or early delivery with the intent of saving the baby and mother.” Furthermore, every pro-life law currently in effect contains exceptions allowing abortions when necessary to save the pregnant mother’s life.
10. Trump’s Position on Abortion
Kamala Harris untruthfully accused Donald Trump of attempting to “enact a nationwide abortion ban, with or without Congress,” designate “a national anti-abortion coordinator,” “force states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions,” “limit access to birth control,” and outlaw a popular and dangerous abortion drug regime.
As The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd previously noted, Trump has regularly taken the position that laws limiting the murder of children in the womb should be left “up to the states.” He’s voiced opposition to signing a federal law curbing abortion and his vice-presidential pick J.D. Vance “similarly claimed the pill responsible for a 500 percent increase in abortion-related emergency room visits should remain legal and ‘accessible.’”
11. IVF
Kamala Harris falsely insinuated that Donald Trump is to blame if couples are “cut off in the middle of IVF treatments.”
As The Federalist previously reported, “Trump has openly touted in vitro fertilization, even though it is marred with ethical and moral pitfalls, as a procedure that Republicans and pro-life conservatives should promote.”
12. Disastrous Border Bill
Kamala Harris lied when claiming that a congressional immigration bill proposed and defeated earlier this year is the “the strongest border bill in decades.”
That statement is categorically false. The bipartisan measure would have enshrined the existing invasion into federal law.
13. Trump’s NATO Comments
While falsely claiming that Donald Trump “encouraged [Vladimir] Putin to invade our allies,” Kamala Harris distorted the former president’s remarks by claiming he told Russia it could “do whatever the hell [it] want[s].”
Harris’ characterization of Trump’s remarks is as inaccurate as when her boss said it during his State of the Union address earlier this year.
Trump’s remarks came during a South Carolina rally, during which he recounted a story from when he was president and speaking with a NATO member. Trump purportedly told this state that he would withhold U.S. support if they didn’t pay their minimum defense spending obligations.
“‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’” Trump recalled telling the unidentified NATO member. “‘No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.’”
14. America’s Enemies
Kamala Harris claimed “tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un” are “rooting” for Donald Trump to win this November.
While there is no definitive way for Harris to know this, the actions of America’s biggest adversaries in the years since she and Biden assumed the White House suggests the exact opposite. Thus far, Russia has invaded Ukraine, Iran-backed Hamas launched a deadly terrorist attack on Israel, North Korea disavowed potential peace with South Korea, and China has ramped up its threats toward Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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