In his first two solo rallies as the Republicans’ vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance took aim at Vice President Kamala Harris. But in several instances, Vance twisted Harris’ words or her record.
FactChecking Vance’s Attacks on Harris
Issues: defunding the police
Post Uses Altered Photo to Impugn Klobuchar’s Comments on Slain First Responders
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar posted condolences and support for two police officers and a firefighter killed Feb. 18 while responding to a domestic incident. A post on social media uses an altered photo to falsely claim Klobuchar previously attended a meeting with people holding “DEFUND THE POLICE” signs. The original image shows the people were not holding any such signs.
Everytown’s Misleading Ad on Johnson’s Votes ‘Against Funding for the Police’
A TV ad from a gun control advocacy group claims Republican Sen. Ron Johnson voted “against funding for the police, preventing local departments from hiring more officers.” But the two votes cited were against trillion-dollar spending bills that included a host of measures, well beyond law enforcement funding.
Johnson’s False Claim about Barnes’ Tax Plan
Like many Democrats, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes says he wants to cut “middle-class” taxes and make sure the wealthy “pay their fair share.” But an ad from his opponent, Sen. Ron Johnson, in the race for U.S. Senate falsely tells the state’s voters that Barnes wants to “double your income taxes.”
Florida GOP Attacks Crist with Misleading Claims About the IRS and Police
President Biden and Democrat Charlie Crist have said that they don’t support calls to defund the police. And a law that both men supported provides funding for the IRS to potentially hire tens of thousands of new employees — mostly in customer service, not tax auditing, bureau officials have said. But a Florida GOP ad makes distorted claims about both issues.
Late Ad Misleadingly Claims Republican Candidate for Governor Could ‘Slash’ State Police Funding
Tudor Dixon, a GOP candidate for governor in Michigan, proposes to phase out the state’s individual income tax, but hasn’t detailed how she would cut state spending to make up for the lost revenue. The Democrats fill in the blanks in a misleading TV ad.
Stacey Abrams on Violent Crime, Defunding the Police
Stacey Abrams, who faces Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in a rematch this fall, correctly accused Kemp’s TV ad makers of “conveniently” editing her comments about defunding the police, but she falsely claimed that the state’s violent crimes went up 55% in 2020. The actual increase was 5%.
Misleading Late Attack on Kathy Barnette in Pennsylvania Senate Race
A late attack ad from a super PAC supporting one of Kathy Barnette’s opponents in the Pennsylvania Senate Republican primary makes several misleading claims about Barnette, who has surged in the polls.
Misleading ‘Defund the Police’ Attack on Dr. Oz
Dr. Mehmet Oz has been outspoken about opposing defunding the police. But an ad from a conservative super PAC misleadingly claims that the Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate was “a spokesman for a group who wanted to defund the police.”
Democrat Makes Misleading ‘Defund the Police’ Claim
A senior aide to President Joe Biden misleadingly claimed that congressional Republicans “defunded the police” when they voted against the American Rescue Plan Act. House and Senate Republicans didn’t support the legislation, but it wasn’t a vote to cut or eliminate federal funding for law enforcement, as the claim may have led viewers to believe.