During Tuesday’s presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, a pattern emerged in which the vice president at times twisted the truth, tried to present her political weaknesses as strengths, and fired off a flurry of demonstrably false statements.
Below are some examples of claims that stood out during the confrontation with ABC News.
Trump’s New ‘Sales Tax’?
Early in the debate, Harris tried to portray Trump’s proposal for blanket tariffs on foreign goods as a “sales tax.” Tariffs are different from sales taxes, which are charges on the sale of goods or services.
“My opponent has a plan that I call the Trump sales tax. It would be a 20 percent tax on everyday goods that get you through the month,” Harris said.
“First of all, I don’t have a sales tax. That’s a false statement. She knows we put tariffs on other countries,” Trump responded.
While many economists note that tariffs raise prices for American consumers, President Biden has also imposed them on some Chinese goods.
Are Haitian Migrants ‘Eating Pets’?
In one of the most bizarre moments of the debate, Trump repeated a false claim spread by right-wing social media users (including Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance), namely that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing and eating pets.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came here are eating the cats,” Trump said. “They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
This rumor appears to have originated in a Facebook post. City officials and local police, meanwhile, deny that there is any evidence to support it.
Are there no US military personnel active in a combat zone?
Despite the fact that US troops are still serving in hotbeds like Iraq, Syria and Somalia, Harris made a claim that suggested US soldiers are not stationed in war zones around the world.
“And to this day, there is no active duty member of the United States military in a war zone, in any war zone in the world, for the first time this century,” Harris said.
Aborting live babies?
Trump repeated one of his oft-repeated lies on the subject of abortion, saying that Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, thinks it’s “OK” for abortions to be performed after a child is born.
“He also says that execution after birth – it’s execution, no longer abortion, because the baby is born – is okay.”
Infanticide is illegal in all 50 states and Walz has never said he supports the practice.
$1 Trillion Invested in the Clean Energy Economy?
Harris took some liberties with the math when she listed the amount of money the Biden administration has invested in clean energy.
“Over the past four years, we have invested $1 trillion in a clean energy economy,” she said.
Although the Inflation Reduction Act introduced tax breaks and credits to stimulate the U.S. economy’s transition to renewable energy sources, clean energy investments have only generated $700 billion, according to the Clean Investment Monitor.
Venezuelan gangs take over Colorado apartment complex?
Trump also ran with a story claiming that a violent gang of Venezuelan migrants had taken control of an apartment building in Aurora, Colorado.
“They’re taking over cities. They’re taking over buildings. They’re going in by force,” Trump said, perhaps unaware that the claims, which were fueled by a video posted on social media, had been debunked.
Police in Aurora have confirmed that there are indeed a handful of members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in the area. However, local authorities strongly deny claims that the gang has control of apartment buildings.
“I’m not saying there aren’t gang members that don’t live in this community, but what we’re learning here is that gang members have not taken over this complex,” Aurora Interim Police Chief Heather Morris said in a recent video filmed at the complex.
Residents of the building at the center of the controversy held a press conference last week to dispute the claims.
Evidence the 2020 election was rigged?
Perhaps no false claim is more important to Trump’s 2024 candidacy than his assertion that voter fraud cost him victory in 2020.
“There is so much evidence,” he said Tuesday. “You just have to look at it.”
The evidence points the other way. More than 60 state and federal courts, his own attorney general, independent investigators and election watchdogs have examined claims by Trump and his allies and determined that the election was fair and honest. Despite Trump’s frequent claims of widespread voter fraud, he has never presented credible evidence, and he did not do so at the debate.
