The first bit of nonsense, debate-wise, came during Tuesday night’s showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump when Harris attacked Trump on a topic that the fact checkers debunked, which was President Trump’s supposed comments claiming that there were ‘very fine people on both sides’ of the tragedy that unfolded in Charlottesville. Just when the audience though it couldn’t make an appearance, Harris brought it back.
This was an obvious attempt at reviving a narrative that has been repeatedly debunked. The ‘very fine people’ lie has been called outright false by even the fact-checking source Snopes, which is not known for being favorable to President Trump.
The tragic events of Charlottesville occurred on August 11 and 12, 2017 as part of the Unite the Right rally. This rally, which initially began as a protest against the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue from a park, turned violent as neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other far-right groups clashed with leftist counter-protesters. During this chaos, one self-identified white supremacist rammed his car into a crowd of people, killing one and injuring at least 19.
Despite the facts, Harris claimed during the debate that Trump had said, “There were fine people on each side.” This is a blatant misrepresentation of what Trump actually said during a media briefing after the tragedy. In fact, even Snopes acknowledged that this statement was false.
During the media briefing, Trump specifically referred to those who were at the rally to protest the removal of the statue, saying, “You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name. George Washington was a slave owner.” He also condemned the neo-Nazis and white supremacists, saying they “should be condemned totally.”
Kamala Harris repeats the WIDELY DEBUNKED "very fine people" Charlottesville hoax ???? pic.twitter.com/oMOAysJwBe
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 11, 2024
But despite the clear evidence, Harris continued to push this false narrative on the debate stage. She even attempted to label everything that her opponent said as a lie, without providing any counter-evidence. This was a desperate and feeble attempt to discredit Trump and distract from the real issues at hand.
It’s been over seven years since the tragic events in Charlottesville, yet Harris is still dragging out this “very fine people” lie. This just goes to show how far she is willing to go to smear Trump and his supporters. It’s time for Harris to stop spreading misinformation and start focusing on the real problems facing our country. As for the debate, Trump remained calm and collected, while Harris resorted to desperate tactics. In the end, it was clear who the real winner was.