Five days after the presidential debate between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, the debate continues to be a scorching topic in the floor – and not in a positive way for the vice president. As we wrote previously, one of the false statements that ABC News moderators failed to check with Harris during the debate concerned the U.S. military.
The issue occurred during the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and the topic was the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. When pressed on the subject, Harris tried to evade the issue by claiming that not a single American soldier is currently deployed in a combat zone.
HARRIS: At this point in time, not a single member of the United States military is on energetic duty in a combat zone – and this is the first time this century that there has been such a deployment in any war zone in the world.
It actually took energetic soldiers to verify the facts, as shown in this viral video that Bonchie shared in his post:
This is the best fact check ever. It doesn’t get any better than this. Enjoy. pic.twitter.com/V6U6q4EF8t
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) 14 September 2024
Read more:
WATCH: The best Kamala Harris fact check in history, and you’ll never guess how it ends
The damage that this statement did to the Harris-Walz campaign team was further blackened on Sunday when co-host Martha Raddatz interviewed Harris’s surrogate, Democratic Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, during ABC News’ “This Week With George Stephanopoulos”:
Pressed by @MarthaRaddatz Regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’ comments about the military during the debate, Governor Maura Healey said: “I think the important thing here is that Kamala Harris has proven herself to be a commander in chief, unlike Donald Trump.” https://t.co/bs15S5KMms pic.twitter.com/j9Dbmn3ajw
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) 15 September 2024
The moderator repeated Kamala’s false statement about the military, then this conversation came up. It’s long, but worth reading in context:
RADDATZ: Our fact checkers have found that this is wrong and I have a lot of experience in this area too. Currently there are 900 US military personnel in Syria, 2500 US troops in Iraqall have been under regular threat from drones and missiles for months. We have also Action in the Red Sea. We too – every single day, the Navy SEALs, Delta Forces, Special Forces can be part of any kind of deadly attack.
So why would she make this claim?
HEALEY: I think what is essential here, Martha, is that Kamala Harris in contrast to Donald Trump demonstrated herself as commander-in-chiefWe live in a world where there are all kinds of conflicts, and that is one more reason we need someone who is grave and who supports the military, and remember –
(CROSSTALK)
RADDATZ: But, Governor —
HEALEY: – Donald Trump’s own –
RADDATZ: But, Governor, excuse me, but She said there is not a single member of the U.S. military who is on energetic duty in a combat zone. That is not true. You say she has proven her abilities as a commander in chief, but did she not know about these people in Syria and Iraq? Why would she say that?
HEALEY: Look, that was a comment – that was a comment in a debate. I think the point she was trying to make was a broader point and of course we have military all over the country, that is essential. We are the United States of America, and Remember, Kamala Harris is the person who stands with NATOwho supports our allies, who works to bring countries together.
Donald Trump stands by Vladimir Putin’s side. You know, I think that’s what’s really essential. Kamala Harris, She respects our military, she respect our soldiers. Donald Trump calls them idiots and losers. And that’s why Donald Trump’s former military generals are supporting Kamala Harris. They say Donald Trump shouldn’t belong anywhere near the Oval Office.
And I think those are the points, Martha, that people need to understand. We live in a world of very grave times with grave consequences and the actions of the next Commander in Chief matter. Kamala Harris will be that Commander in Chief and will lead us to freedom in cooperation with others – (emphasis mine)
The congressman from Massachusetts interrupted as Raddatz tried to ask a up-to-date question, but managed to make another dishonest statement: “Donald Trump is interested in supporting Putin’s side.”
Let’s go over that again. This stooge of Kamala Harris and the Democratic machine trying to put her in the Oval Office thinks it’s “really important” that the American people know that the Vice President has “proven herself to be a Commander in Chief,” but provides no example of that. Not to mention the fact that our country still has a Commander in Chief named Joe Biden.
Healey spouts a tirade about Harris bringing countries together and supporting NATO. She claims Harris is “someone who means business and supports the military.” There is no concrete example for this claim either. Trump called on NATO countries to pay their fair share and made them do it. The Dutch prime minister, who is now NATO chief, confirmed this as fact. Kamala boasted in an interview during the decision that she was the last person in the room to sign off on Biden’s Afghanistan debacle. That is not support for the military.
Then Healey starts with the insults, the hackneyed and debunked insults they’ve used against Trump, including about Putin. Healey, I noted, made sure to sneak in a second reference to the Russian leader. But there was also the crude claim that Trump allegedly called veterans “suckers and losers,” an attack that Vice President Harris makes over and over again and that even Snopes calls false:
Shock in the fact check: Snopes supports Trump in the false report “Suckers and Losers”
JD Vance decimates Kamala’s heinous attempt to attack Trump and politicize Arlington visit
I give Raddatz some credit for trying to take the Democrats to task, but she still lets a lot of dishonesty slip through. That’s not close enough to journalism to deserve praise, especially after the network’s terrible presidential debate. As I wrote on Sunday, there are allegations from a whistleblower who has worked at ABC News for 10 years and is against the penalty of perjury that the Harris campaign and the network colluded to rig the debate against former President Donald Trump. You can read about the alleged pressure from her camp in the article below.
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BREAKING NEWS: ABC whistleblower claims Harris camp allegedly ‘limited’ the scope for questions in Trump debate
