Fact check: Video showing Kamala Harris laughing at violent protests is fake
The Trump campaign is promoting videos that have been manipulated to show Kamala Harris laughing and appearing sympathetic to violent protests as images of rioting flash in the background.
Harris, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, did not laugh at protesters. The laughter in the video was taken from a 21-month-old appearance on “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that had nothing to do with protesting.
Nor did she try to justify violent demonstrations. The quotes used in the video, from a June Colbert show, were referring to the value of peaceful protests.
The videos are part of a continuing effort by Trump forces to present the California senator as a dangerous radical.
And while such videos help fire up Trump’s base, they also help reinforce ugly stereotypes, said Laura Gomez, a UCLA law professor and author of “Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism.”
“I don’t see this as going too far with the base. That base can take quite a lot,” she said. “It could be a bit of a trial balloon to see what kind of push-back they get.”
The Trump campaign did not respond to inquiries about the videos from The Sacramento Bee.
‘Stop the Liberal Mob’
In a 15 second video on the Team Trump website, Harris is seen laughing almost hysterically on the left of the screen. Biden, wearing a mask, appears passively on the right.
In the background, fires rage, cars burn, and the words “Joe Biden’s Peaceful Protests’ ‘ appear. Then there’s more Harris laughter superimposed over the mayhem. Viewers are urged to “Stop the Liberal Mob.” The Trump-Pence 2020 logo also appears.
The laughter comes from a January 2019 appearance by Harris on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Harris was asked to name her favorite songs. She often laughs heartily when recalling them.
‘Beware’
Another video gets this introduction on the Trump War Room Twitter site: “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris don’t stand with the police. They stand with the criminals bringing violence and destruction to our communities.”
In the 45-second video, the viewer sees people setting fires during riots and police clashing with protesters. “Death to America!” says a chyron, quoting a protester. Another says, “Kill the F--- Police.”
Through it all is Harris talking about the “beauty and the power” of protests as a “counterforce against a very entrenched status quo.”
“They’re not gonna stop, and everyone beware, because they’re not gonna stop,” she says. “They’re not gonna stop before Election Day in November, and they’re not gonna stop after Election Day.” Harris’ face gets bigger and bigger on the screen as ominous music plays.
Her comments come from a June appearance on Colbert’s show, a few weeks after the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis sparked protests around the country.
Rioting was not discussed during the interview. Colbert and Harris were talking about the value of peaceful protests.
Harris was recalling her own history, starting with participating in civil rights movements with her parents as a youngster.
Colbert lamented how it seemed media coverage of protests was waning. How, he asked, do people sustain a movement? Harris talked about how the Black Lives Matter movement has helped provoke change, and said it was “critically important” that protests continue.
Never did she mention, let alone endorse, violence.
Will It Work?
The videos reflect a Trump campaign strategy to paint Harris as an unrepentant liberal comfortable with radical protesters.
In North Carolina Tuesday night, Trump said Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden had formed an “unholy alliance with the most extreme and dangerous elements of the radical left.”
Trump ripped into Harris. “You know who’s further left than crazy Bernie? Kamala,” a reference to democratic socialist Bernie Sanders. He pronounces her name “Ka-mal-uh” emphasizing each syllable and says it three times.
Trump said having her as the first woman president would be “an insult to our country.”
To Gomez, the videos reinforce some stereotypes.
“This plays into these tired tropes of the angry black woman and the aggressive black woman,” Gomez said, “and it’s almost an emasculating kind of thing,” because Biden appears passive.
There’s little evidence so far it’s working, “at least not in terms of big picture,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth Poll, which surveys voters nationally, though he thought “there could be impacts on the margins which could be critical in a tight race.”
His Sept. 3-8 poll showed Trump’s approval rating remained at 41%, the same number Trump had last month.
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 2:17 PM.
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