Vice President Kamala Harris has once again invoked the debunked claim that former President Donald Trump praised white supremacists during the Charlottesville protests.
According to a Breitbart News report, Harris's campaign tweeted a message on August 12, 2024, stating that white supremacists and neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville were the "very fine people" Trump referred to.
The tweet included a photo and was posted exactly seven years after the Charlottesville incident.
The "very fine people" hoax has been a recurring theme in political discourse since the Charlottesville protests in 2017. The claim suggests that Trump praised white supremacists and neo-Nazis involved in the protests. However, Snopes.com officially debunked this claim in June 2024, seven years after the event.
The misinterpretation stems from Trump's comments during a press conference following the protests. He was referring to non-violent participants on both sides of a debate about a statue, contrasting their behavior with that of the violent neo-Nazis and Antifa activists.
During the 2020 vice presidential debate, Harris herself was confronted with the facts about Trump's statement. Despite the clarification, she continued to use the hoax in her political messaging.
Joe Biden, the current President and Harris's running mate in the 2020 election, also ran on the "very fine people" hoax. Breitbart News confronted Biden with the facts in 2019 but to no avail. Biden reiterated the hoax this past weekend, claiming that Trump had emboldened the Ku Klux Klan.
Biden's persistent use of the hoax has been a point of contention, as it continues to mislead the public about Trump's actual comments. Despite the debunking efforts by various sources, the hoax remains a part of the political narrative.
In addition to her misleading claims about Trump, Harris has been slow to condemn the wave of anti-Semitic violence that has swept the country since October 7. She recently stated that she supports the "emotion" behind the protests, a stance that has drawn criticism.
Her delayed response to the anti-Semitic violence has been seen as a reflection of her political strategy, which often focuses on aligning with progressive sentiments rather than addressing specific issues directly.
The Trump campaign has been quick to respond to Harris's latest use of the "very fine people" hoax. The campaign's official Twitter account, @TrumpWarRoom, tweeted a response on August 12, 2024, stating:
A lie that has been so thoroughly and exhaustively debunked that repeating it insults the intelligence of the American people. Pretty much sums up Kamala’s campaign.
The tweet included a screenshot of Harris's campaign tweet, highlighting the discrepancy between her claims and the actual facts.
Vice President Kamala Harris has once again used the debunked "very fine people" hoax to criticize former President Donald Trump. Despite the claim being debunked by fact-checking websites and during the 2020 vice presidential debate, Harris continues to perpetuate the misleading narrative. Joe Biden, her running mate, has also used the hoax in his political messaging. Harris has been slow to condemn the recent wave of anti-Semitic violence, further complicating her political stance. The Trump campaign has responded to Harris's claims, highlighting the inaccuracies and the insult to the American people's intelligence.
