Fact-Checking Kamala Harris on the Campaign Trail

We assessed some of the vice president’s talking points about her opponent.

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Vice President Kamala Harris’s stump speech has included warnings about former President Donald J. Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris is set to accept the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday night, capping an extraordinary month in which her ascent to the top of her party’s ticket has upended the 2024 race.

Since President Biden stepped aside, Ms. Harris has campaigned across the country, held a number of rallies and hewed closely to her roughly 25-minute stump speech, which largely focuses on her biography, her vision for the future and warnings about former President Donald J. Trump. Those appearances tend to be tightly scripted, leaving little room for error.

Ms. Harris’s remarks largely stick close to the facts, but her comments sometimes omit context that may give voters a different impression.

Here’s a look.

What Was Said

“Donald Trump’s plan would cost a typical family $3,900 a year.”
— at a rally in Raleigh, N.C., last week

This needs context. Ms. Harris was referring to Mr. Trump’s proposals to place a 10 to 20 percent tariff on most imports, and a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods.

An analysis by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a liberal think tank, found that tariffs at those levels would cost the average family $3,900 annually, as Ms. Harris said.

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