Five days on from the presidential debate between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democrat nominee Kamala Harris, it continues to take up oxygen in the room--and not in a good way for the vice president. As we previously wrote, one of the misstatements that the ABC News moderators didn't fact-check Harris on during the debate was about the U.S. military.
The setup happened during the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and the topic centered on the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. When pressed on the matter, Harris tried to pivot by claiming that there is not a single American service member currently serving in a combat zone.
HARRIS: As of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone, in any war zone around the world for the first time this century.
It took actual, active servicemembers to provide the fact check, as this viral video Bonchie shared in his piece showed:
This is the greatest fact-check to ever exist. It will never get better than this. Savor it. pic.twitter.com/V6U6q4EF8t
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) September 14, 2024
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WATCH: The Best Fact-Check of Kamala Harris in History, and You'll Never Guess How It Ends
The damage caused by that statement to the Harris-Walz campaign continued to fester on Sunday, during ABC News' "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" program, when co-anchor Martha Raddatz interviewed Harris surrogate, Democrat Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey:
Pressed by @MarthaRaddatz on Vice Pres. Kamala Harris’ remarks about the military during the debate, Gov. Maura Healey says, "I think what's important here is that Kamala Harris, in contrast to Donald Trump, demonstrated herself to be commander-in-chief." https://t.co/bs15S5KMms pic.twitter.com/j9Dbmn3ajw
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) September 15, 2024
The host replayed Kamala's false line about the military, then this conversation happened. It's lengthy but worth reading in context:
RADDATZ: Our fact checkers found that to be false and I have a lot of experience in that area, as well. There are currently 900 U.S. military personnel in Syria, 2500 U.S. troops in Iraq, all have been under regular threat from drones and missiles for months. We also have action in the Red Sea. We also -- every single day, the Navy SEALs, Delta Forces, special operators can be part of any sort of deadly raid.
So why would she make that claim?
HEALEY: I think what's important here, Martha, is that Kamala Harris in contrast to Donald Trump demonstrated herself to be commander-in-chief. We are in a world where there are all sorts of conflicts and it's all the more reason we need somebody who's serious and who supports the military and just remember --
(CROSSTALK)
RADDATZ: But, Governor --
HEALEY: -- Donald Trump's own --
RADDATZ: But, Governor, excuse me, but she said there is not one member of the United States military who is an active duty in a combat zone. That is not true. You say she demonstrated her ability to be 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 that she was trying to make was a broader point and, of course, we have military in place all around this country, that's important. We're the United States of America, and Kamala Harris, remember, is the person who stands with NATO, who supports our allies, who's working to bring countries together.
Donald Trump stands with Vladimir Putin. So, you know, I think that's what's really important. Kamala Harris, she respects our military, she respects our service members. Donald Trump calls them suckers and losers. And it's why Donald Trump's former military generals support Kamala Harris. They say that Donald Trump shouldn't be 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 serious times with serious consequences and the actions of the next commander-in-chief matter. Kamala Harris will be that commander-in-chief and lead us forward in freedom, working with other -- (emphasis mine)
The Massachusetts lawmaker cut herself off, as Raddatz tried to ask a new question, but made sure to get in one more dishonest statement: "Donald Trump is interested in saddling up to Putin."
Let's review. This shill for Kamala Harris and the Democrat machine trying to install her in the Oval Office thinks it's "really important" for the American people to know that the vice president has "demonstrated herself to be commander-in-chief," yet gives no example of this. Never mind the fact that our country still has a commander-in-chief named Joe Biden.
Healey shares a bunch of word salad about Harris bringing countries together and supporting NATO. She states that Harris is "someone who's serious and who supports the military." Again, there's no concrete example given of that claim. Trump asked and got NATO countries to start paying their fair share. The Dutch prime minister, who is now the leader of NATO, confirmed that as fact. Kamala boasted in an interview, in the wake of the decision, that she was the last one in the room, signing off on Biden's Afghanistan debacle. That isn't showing support for the military.
Then Healey starts in on the slurs, the tired and debunked slurs they have been using against Trump, including about Putin. Healey, as I noted, made sure to sneak in a second reference to the Russian leader. But there was also the gross claim that Trump allegedly called veterans "suckers and losers," an attack Vice President Harris continues to trot out, which even Snopes calls false:
Fact Check Shock: Snopes Backs Trump on ‘Suckers and Losers’ Hoax
JD Vance Decimates Kamala's Vile Attempt to Attack Trump and Politicize Arlington Visit
I give Raddatz partial credit for trying to call the Democrats on the carpet, but there's still a lot of dishonesty she allows to slide here. It's not close enough to journalism to deserve anyone's praise, especially after the network's terrible presidential debate. As I wrote earlier on Sunday, there are allegations, made by a whistleblower, who has worked at ABC News for 10 years, under penalty of perjury, that the Harris campaign and the network colluded to rig the debate against former Pres. Donald Trump. You can read about the alleged strongarming by her camp in the piece below.
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