Fact check: Is Kamala Harris going to make you eat less red meat?
In Kamala Harris’ world, as described by top Republicans, you’d have a harder time getting red meat. They say she considers Joe Biden a racist and maybe even a rapist.
Those are among the claims hurled at the Democrats’ vice presidential candidate by President Donald Trump’s campaign or top Republican party officials during the month she’s been on the ticket.
The five most incendiary allegations against Harris are either untrue or greatly exaggerated.
They’re all part of a narrative the GOP is trying to paint against the California senator, summarized in an ad that began running immediately after Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden chose her as his running mate.
“Kamala Harris’ extreme positions, from raising taxes to abolishing private health insurance to comparing law enforcement officials to the KKK, show that the left-wing mob is controlling Joe Biden’s candidacy, just like they would control him as president,” said Republican Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
A look at the Republican allegations:
Red meat
“We’re not going to let Joe Biden and Kamala Harris cut America’s meat,” declared Vice President Mike Pence August 14 in a visit to Iowa. “Sen. Kamala Harris said she would change the dietary guidelines of this country to reduce the amount of red meat Americans could eat.”
Harris has said she would support changing the federal Dietary Guidelines that recommend what is considered healthy.
“Would you support changing the dietary guidelines? Reduce red meat specifically?” she was asked during a CNN town hall on climate change last year.
“Yes, I would,” Harris said.
But the guidelines do not mandate what people can eat, though they can change eating patterns in federal programs such as school lunches.
But it’s untrue that Harris would reduce the amount of red meat Americans could eat. While the guidelines can change eating patterns in federal programs such as school lunches, they do not mandate what people are allowed to eat.
Biden a Racist?
“Not long ago, Kamala Harris called Joe Biden a racist and asked for an apology she never received,” said Katrina Pierson, Trump senior advisor, in an August 11 statement.
No record has surfaced of Harris calling Biden a racist. Harris had a widely publicized moment at a Democratic debate 14 months ago when she criticized Biden after he discussed how he worked with segregationist senators.
“It was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country,” she said.
At that same debate, though, she also told Biden “I do not believe you are a racist.”
The next month, Biden told a South Carolina audience, “Now was I wrong a few weeks ago, to somehow give the impression to people that I was praising those men who I successfully opposed time and again? Yes, I was. I regret it. I’m sorry for any of the pain or misconception that I caused anybody.”
It’s not true that Harris called Biden a racist, and in fact said explicitly he was not.
Rapist?
In an August 22 Trump campaign video, Harmeet Dhillon, California Republican national committeewoman, says of Harris, “She’s also pretty much called him a rapist, so there she is the running mate of a racist and a rapist, not exactly a position of principle.
“If you really believe either of those things then you would not be standing next to that man. So either she didn’t believe it when she said it or she believes it and she’s willing to tolerate it to get ahead. Both of those things are bad.”
In early 2019, several women said that Biden engaged in unwanted physical contact they found inappropriate.
“I believe them, and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it,” Harris told reporters in April, 2019, during a Nevada campaign stop.
One of the women, Tara Reade, then said earlier this year that Biden had gone further, “penetrating me with his fingers.”
“What Tara Reade alleges is a form of rape. Unwanted digital penetration is rape,” Dhillon told The Bee.
Biden has denied Reade’s allegations, saying “unequivocally, it never happened.”
Though Harris said she believed women who said Biden engaged in unwanted contact, Harris has not referred to Biden as a rapist.
Killing Trump
The Republican National Committee says in an August 19 fact sheet that “Harris once joked about killing President Donald Trump.”
Their source is a 2018 Harris appearance on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show. DeGeneres asked Harris who she would rather be stuck in an elevator with, Trump, Pence of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“Does one of us have to come out alive?” Harris laughed and asked. The audience roared with laughter and cheers.
It is not true that Harris suggested killing the president.
Ku Klux Klan
In that August 19 fact sheet on Harris, the Republican National Committee says that “in a 2018 Senate hearing, Harris compared ICE to the KKK.”
This narrative began in 2015, when Ronald Vitiello, Trump’s nominee to head the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, tweeted that the Democratic Party could be called the “NeoKlanist party.”
At his 2018 Senate confirmation hearing, he said of his comment, “It was wrong to do because those are offensive words. They have history in this country and I honestly did not mean it that way.”
At that hearing, Harris asked, “Are you aware of the perception of many about how the power and discretion at ICE being used to enforce the laws? And do you see any parallels?”
“I do not see any parallels,” Vitello said.
They continued their exchange, and Vitiello said, “I see no perception that puts ICE in the same category as the KKK. Is that what you’re asking me?”
“No, I’m very specific about what I’m asking,” Harris replied. “Are you aware of a perception that the way that the discretion…
“I see none,” interrupted Vitiello.
Harris pressed him. “Are you aware of a perception that ICE is administering its power in a way that is causing fear and intimidation particularly among immigrants and specifically among immigrants coming from Mexico and Central America?”
“I do not see a parallel between the power and the authority ICE has to do its job,” Vitiello said.
It is not true that Harris explicitly compared ICE to the KKK, though she did did ask Vitiello whether he saw any parallels between the two.
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Fact check: Is Kamala Harris going to make you eat less red meat?."
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