Washington
CNN
—
A social media account run by Vice President Kamala Harris’ marketing campaign has been repeatedly misleading.
The @KamalaHQ account, which has greater than 1.3 million followers on the X social media platform previously referred to as Twitter, has made a behavior of misleadingly clipping and inaccurately captioning video clips to assault former President Donald Trump.
The Harris marketing campaign deploys @KamalaHQ as a type of irreverent assault canine, utilizing jocular posts to attract consideration to controversial, incorrect, or doubtful feedback by Trump and his allies. However the account, which the Harris marketing campaign calls its “official rapid response page,” has itself made inaccurate feedback on a number of events.
Beneath are eight examples of false or deceptive video posts from the account since mid-August, together with three from the latter a part of this week. All of them have beforehand been highlighted by an nameless rebuttal account referred to as @KamalaHQLies, which itself has greater than 268,000 followers.
Misleadingly describing a Trump remark about his supporters
An August 17 post from @KamalaHQ strongly steered Trump had gotten confused about what state he was in throughout an occasion in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The submit stated, “Trump: Would that be okay, North Carolina? (He’s in Pennsylvania).” It included a six-second video clip through which Trump stated, whereas pointing to his left, “Would that be okay, North Carolina? I don’t assume so, proper.”
The Harris marketing campaign was specific about its intentions within the model of the submit it made on the Instagram @KamalaHQ account, saying, “Donald Trump is misplaced and confused.”
However Trump was not misplaced or confused.
The full video of the rally exhibits that earlier within the speech, Trump had pointed to the identical spot on his left to acknowledge after which communicate to a gaggle of ardent supporters from North Carolina, ultimately saying, “Thanks very a lot. North Carolina!” Later, within the second proven by @KamalaHQ, he pointed to those supporters once more and referred to them as “North Carolina.” He had not forgotten he was talking in Pennsylvania.
The Harris marketing campaign declined to touch upon this @KamalaHQ submit.
Deceptively clipping and misleadingly describing a Trump remark about immigration
On Thursday, the @KamalaHQ account made a new attempt to counsel that Trump was confused about his location. Its submit stated, “Trump: ‘Pennsylvania, bear in mind this when you must go to vote’ (He’s in Arizona).” It included an eight-second clip of Trump saying in a Tucson speech, “So Pennsylvania, bear in mind this when you must go to vote, okay, simply bear in mind this: 2,000% enhance. It is a small —…”
The Instagram submit of this comment, too, was extra specific than the X submit; on Instagram, the Harris marketing campaign added textual content over prime the video that learn, “Trump forgets which state he’s in (once more).”
However Trump, once more, had not forgotten which state he was in.
The extended footage exhibits that the Harris marketing campaign clipped out essential context: Trump was speaking about immigration, a key subject in Arizona, and had simply learn part of his ready textual content about how a small Pennsylvania city has “skilled a 2,000% enhance within the inhabitants of Haitian migrants below Kamala Harris.” He then added, “So Pennsylvania, bear in mind this when you must go to vote, okay, simply bear in mind this: 2,000% enhance, it is a small city; of all a sudden they bought 1000’s of individuals.”
One might attempt to argue it’s odd for Trump to make a direct enchantment to Pennsylvanians whereas talking in Arizona. However Trump’s remarks wherever within the nation are broadcast to voters in all places within the nation, and, regardless, @KamalaHQ eradicated the context that will permit individuals to develop an knowledgeable opinion on this comment.
The Harris marketing campaign declined to touch upon this @KamalaHQ submit.
Deceptively clipping and misleadingly describing a Trump remark about his 2017 Charlottesville comment
A Friday post from @KamalaHQ stated, “Trump says ‘nothing was achieved incorrect’ in Charlottesville in 2017 when neo-Nazis chanted ‘Jews won’t change us’ and killed an harmless lady.” The submit included a 10-second clip of Trump telling reporters at a Friday occasion in California, “…like on Mission 2025, I do not know about — had nothing to do with me, he didn’t right her, he knew that. Charlottesville — nothing was achieved incorrect.”
However the full video of Trump’s California comments shows that the Harris marketing campaign deceptively lower the clip proper earlier than Trump made clear he was not claiming that neo-Nazis in Charlottesville did nothing incorrect or that the murder of innocent Charlottesville counterprotester Heather Heyer was not incorrect.
Reasonably, the complete video exhibits, he was arguing that he did nothing incorrect together with his “very fine people, on both sides” remark in 2017 concerning the occasions in Charlottesville, which he has repeatedly insisted was not about white nationalists.
Particularly, Trump was complaining {that a} moderator of the presidential debate on Tuesday, David Muir of ABC Information, didn’t problem how Harris described Trump’s 2017 feedback. We are saying Harris’ debate description of the 2017 feedback was truthful, however regardless, Trump was not defending homicide on Friday.
Right here is Trump’s full Friday remark, through which he invoked varied Fox Information hosts: “I feel he (Muir) corrected me 11 occasions. Of the 11 occasions, I don’t assume he had the suitable to right me in any respect. Didn’t right her as soon as. Like on Mission 2025, I do not know about — had nothing to do with me, he didn’t right her, he knew that. Charlottesville — nothing was achieved incorrect. All you needed to do is learn my assertion another sentence and you’d’ve seen that. Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Jesse (Watters), all of them, they — Greg Gutfeld — all of them took that and so they corrected it many occasions. However they hold coming with the identical lies.”
Defending the @KamalaHQ submit, the Harris marketing campaign stated in an e-mail: “He’s saying he did ‘nothing incorrect’ in relation to him saying ‘very superb individuals’ who did what’s described within the tweet.”
There are two issues with this. The submit itself didn’t acknowledge that Trump’s “nothing incorrect” remark was about his personal earlier comment. And whereas there’s a solid case that this 2017 “very superb individuals” remark was about some white nationalists, there’s no foundation for claiming it was about Heyer’s assassin particularly — a lot much less that Trump’s “nothing incorrect” touch upon Friday was about this assassin.
Deceptively clipping and inaccurately quoting a JD Vance quote about veterans’ well being care
On Thursday, the @KamalaHQ account posted a nine-second video clip of Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s operating mate, talking in an interview. The account wrote: “Q: Would you contemplate privatizing veterans well being care? Vance: I feel I’d contemplate it.”
However Vance didn’t truly say “I feel I’d contemplate it.” A detailed take heed to the clip reveals Vance truly stated “I feel I’d contemplate — and…” And since @KamalaHQ clipped out the essential feedback he made after the “and,” the Harris marketing campaign didn’t permit individuals to instantly study simply what Vance stated he would contemplate.
The extended Vance quote exhibits he stated he would contemplate giving veterans larger flexibility to make use of personal well being care however that he doesn’t wish to eradicate federal well being care offered by the Division of Veterans Affairs (VA). A public-private mixture for veterans’ care was the final method taken by President Barack Obama and then by Trump; it’s definitely not with out critics, however it’s a lot much less contentious than the concept of a complete privatization.
Right here’s the full Vance quote:
“I feel I’d contemplate — and Donald Trump was actually good at this, doesn’t get sufficient credit score for this specific innovation — giving veterans extra alternative. Proper? So let’s say you’re in a rural hospital. Your closest VA is 120 miles away. Why drive a veteran to drive two-and-a-half hours to that VA facility when he can get cheaper and excellent care proper in his yard? Proper? So I do assume that we should open up alternative and optionality for veterans. You already know, I feel that there’s areas the place the VA truly works very nicely, so I wouldn’t say do away with the entire thing. I might say give individuals extra alternative, I feel you’ll lower your expenses within the course of, you’ll additionally give veterans much more optionality.”
The Harris marketing campaign defended the @KamalaHQ submit. It argued in its e-mail, “Vance is suggesting he would contemplate privatizing VA features. This isn’t deceptive. Our caption doesn’t say ‘the entire VA well being system.’”
However the Harris marketing campaign didn’t handle the caption’s “contemplate it” misquote or clarify why it lower the clip earlier than individuals might hear Vance clarify what he would “contemplate.” And if the Harris marketing campaign wished to assert Vance was speaking about presumably privatizing sure VA “features,” because it stated within the e-mail, it might have stated that within the submit quite than at very least leaving open the impression he was speaking about privatizing the entire VA.
Vance spokesperson William Martin stated the Harris marketing campaign is “mendacity” about what Vance stated. Martin stated Vance “personally relied on the VA for years after leaving the Marine Corps,” that Vance doesn’t even wish to privatize VA “features,” and that giving veterans extra choices to voluntarily select personal care can’t be pretty described as privatizing even elements of the VA. Martin stated: “Within the full change, Senator Vance clearly says he wouldn’t privatize the Division of Veterans Affairs.”
Deceptively clipping and falsely describing a Trump quote about penalties for damaging monuments
The @KamalaHQ account frequently invokes Mission 2025, the Heritage Basis assume tank’s right-wing policy proposals for the following Republican administration. Mission 2025 shouldn’t be Trump’s initiative, and he has stated he disagrees with a few of its proposals, however he has extensive ties to the initiative; you possibly can learn extra here.
An August 30 post from @KamalaHQ stated, “Trump says he plans to deliver again legal guidelines from 100+ years in the past, echoing Mission 2025: ‘We don’t move legal guidelines like that. They’re powerful.’” The submit included a seven-second clip of Trump talking at a rally in Pennsylvania.
However the full video of the rally exhibits Trump was not even speaking about Mission 2025 or his future plans.
Reasonably, Trump was telling his standard story about how he supposedly “signed” a century-old regulation to provide automated 10-year jail sentences to individuals who have been damaging monuments. Trump’s story is fake — he didn’t actually sign any regulation on monument-damage penalties or impose automated 10-year sentences — however it’s additionally false that he was “echoing Mission 2025” or saying some plan for a subsequent Trump administration.
The Harris marketing campaign defended this @KamalaHQ submit by arguing that “Trump’s complete platform is about embracing ‘powerful’ coverage of the previous” on varied topics.
That’s one other skinny protection. The submit made a particular declare about what Trump was supposedly saying in a particular video included within the submit, and Trump wasn’t truly saying that.
Deceptively clipping and misleadingly describing a Trump remark about taxes
A September 5 post from @KamalaHQ stated, “Trump tells his rich donors he’s going to make his tax handouts for the ultra-wealthy ‘everlasting’ and lower their taxes ‘much more.’” It included a 13-second clip of Trump saying, “The fifth pillar of my plan is to make the Trump tax cuts everlasting — they’re huge tax cuts, largest ever, everlasting — and to chop taxes much more.”
However the full video of the speech exhibits the @KamalaHQ submit lower the video clip proper earlier than Trump elaborated on what he meant by reducing taxes “much more.” The primary two insurance policies he talked about have been eliminating taxes on suggestions and eliminating taxes on Social Safety advantages — insurance policies that, no matter their deserves or flaws, would definitely profit people who find themselves not rich. (So did his 2017 tax cuts, which produced gains on average for people of all income levels though the rich gained most.)
Additionally, this was not a speech to rich Trump donors alone. It was a speech to the nonpartisan Financial Membership of New York, whose members embrace a broad array of enterprise executives from the world; some attendees have been rich Trump donors, however others weren’t. The very subsequent day, the Harris marketing campaign used the @KamalaHQ account to tout her personal reputation amongst chief executives.
The Harris marketing campaign defended the submit in query partially by noting that rich Trump donors have been in attendance and partially by saying that one of many largest coverage bulletins Trump made in speech was that he plans to attempt to decrease the company tax charge from 21% to fifteen% (a discount Trump said could be “solely for firms that make their product in America”). The Harris marketing campaign stated that “no tax on suggestions and Social Safety weren’t new.”
New or not, although, the @KamalaHQ clip clipped out these essential phrases — making Trump’s feedback on tax cuts sound extra targeted on the rich than they have been.
Reducing out essential phrases from a Vance remark about unions
An August 29 post from @KamalaHQ stated, “Vance: Democrats wish to assault Republicans as being anti-union and typically the shoe matches.” It included a five-second clip of Vance saying these phrases.
However the full video of Vance’s speech to the Worldwide Affiliation of Hearth Fighters union exhibits that the Harris account clipped out the essential comment Vance made subsequent, arguably in the exact same sentence. His full remark: “A variety of Democrats wish to assault Republicans as being anti-union and typically the shoe matches — however not me, and never Donald Trump.” He went on to stipulate actions he had taken to assist firefighters.
The Harris marketing campaign stated that this @KamalaHQ submit was a “direct quote of JD Vance”; the marketing campaign stated the submit is “clearly meant to convey that Vance acknowledges Republicans have a historical past of being anti-union.” However even “direct” quotes might be made deceptive in the event that they exclude the contextualizing phrases that got here earlier than or after the quote.
If, for instance, film critic Sally Smith wrote, “This director has an extended historical past of constructing nice movies, however this one is terrible,” it might be a “direct” quote if an advert for the brand new film stated, “Smith: ‘This director has an extended historical past of constructing nice movies.’” However that will even be misleading.
Falsely describing a remark from a Trump ally
An August 28 post from @KamalaHQ stated: “Trump operative on Mission 2025: You probably have rules with out energy, it’s meaningless. We should wield energy. We should seize energy.” The submit included a 12-second clip of far-right activist and Trump ally Jack Posobiec saying in an interview, “Now you probably have all energy and no precept you’re a tyrant. However you probably have rules with out energy, it’s meaningless, it’s fully meaningless. It’s essential to wield energy. It’s essential to seize energy.”
However as Posobiec accurately noted in response to the @KamalaHQ submit, he by no means even talked about Mission 2025 in these feedback. The phrases Mission 2025 do not appear in any respect in a transcript of the complete interview.
The Harris marketing campaign defended the @KamalaHQ submit with a complicated stretch — claiming Posobiec’s remark is “a part of” a “bigger” Trump-Mission 2025 agenda to fireplace civil servants who usually are not seen as Trump loyalists. Posobiec wasn’t speaking right here about firing civil servants, and, regardless, the submit made a particular declare that Posobiec was speaking about Mission 2025, which he was not.