A video circulating on X appears to show Kamala Harris speaking slowly and with heavy bags under her eyes in her first public comments since conceding the 2024 US presidential election to Donald Trump. But the clip has been changed; Authentic footage of the vice president and the defeated Democratic nominee’s video call to supporters — though widely panned by Republicans and right-wing media — show her delivering the line more quickly and without the manipulated, edited signs of exhaustion.
“Kamala Harris is having a hard time dealing with the election loss,” says a November 26, 2024 post on
Screenshot of X taken on November 27, 2024
Similar messages — some explicitly suggesting Harris was drunk — spread across
The messages share what appears to be a 36-second clip from the conversation. Harris, eyes drooping and his voice slurring, says, “I need to remind you never to let anyone take your power. You have the same power as you did before November 5, and you have the same power as you. And you have the same ability to engage and inspire. So never let anyone or any circumstance take your power from you.’
Some users who shared it clarified or later said it was a joke, but others left comments suggesting they thought it was a real recording of Harris.
The video is indeed not authentic. Work was underway to change the vice president’s appearance and pace of speech.
The original footage, uploaded to YouTube on November 26, shows Harris making the same comments without dark bags under her eyes – in about 29 seconds (archived here). The Democratic Party also posted a 29-second clip highlighting the moment at X (archived here).
The edited version of the clip, which lasts 36 seconds, appears to play at about 75 percent speed.
AFP contacted the White House and the Democratic National Committee for comment but received no responses.
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation about US politics here, including similarly doctored videos of Harris.
