Nonsense comment about Olympics attributed to Harris is fabricated | Fact check
The claim: Kamala Harris made a nonsensical statement about Olympians
A July 28 post on Threads (direct link, archive link) shows an image of Vice President Kamala Harris alongside a purported quote of hers.
“Today we celebrate the Olympics,” reads the supposed quote. “Because Olympians are Olympic, they are at the Olympics being Olympian, so it’s more important now than ever to support their Olympianism.”
The post was liked more than 600 times in four days.
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Our rating: False
The quote is fabricated, according to a spokesperson for Harris’ presidential campaign. There is no evidence she made such a remark.
Fabricated comment is one of many false claims spreading about Harris
The Summer Olympics officially began July 26 in Paris, with athletes from more than 200 nations participating in opening ceremonies along the River Seine. The U.S. quickly climbed to the top of the medal count and as of Aug. 1 has more medals than any other country.
Harris has commented on the Olympics since announcing her presidential campaign in July, but she did not make the nonsensical comment in the post.
“This is obviously fake,” Ammar Moussa, a spokesperson for Harris’ presidential campaign, told USA TODAY in an email.
The social media post did not say when or where Harris made the purported statement. No reliable news source has attributed such a statement to Harris, and a search of her social media accounts for “Olympics” and “Olympians” showed nothing resembling it.
On July 9, while still running for re-election as vice president, Harris stopped by a U.S. men’s basketball practice and encouraged the team to “bring back the gold.” She also acknowledged members of several NCAA national championship teams at the White House and noted six of the athletes would be competing in the Olympics on July 22.
“As members of Team USA, you are ambassadors for our nation,” she said, according to a transcript of the event. “And with pride, we will cheer you on. And we look forward to congratulating you when you bring home the gold.”
Fact check: Yesterday, today, tomorrow quote isn't from Kamala Harris
Since President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and endorsed Harris for president on July 21, misinformation about her has rapidly spread online. USA TODAY has debunked claims that she was “in charge of the border,” that photos purportedly showing her with Jeffrey Epstein were authentic and that she called a teen “racist” in a social media post.
USA TODAY could not reach the social media user who shared the claim for comment.
PolitiFact, Snopes, AFP and Lead Stories also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Ammar Moussa, July 31, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Associated Press, July 9, Vice President Kamala Harris stops by Team USA practice, says ‘Bring back the gold’
The White House, July 22, Remarks by Vice President Harris Celebrating the 2023-2024 NCAA Championship Teams
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Purported Kamala Harris quote on Olympics is fabricated | Fact check