Donald Trump chose a provocative song to describe Kamala Harris during a presidential debate.
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President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris shake hands before the start of an ABC News presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Donald Trump didn’t play the song ‘Hoochie Mama’ for Kamala Harris during a debate
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The video is edited using footage from President-elect Donald Trump’s June 27 debate with President Joe Biden and footage from Vice President Kamala Harris’ July 31, 2019, Democratic presidential primary debate.
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The voice in the video appears manipulated to sound like longtime political news anchor Chris Wallace.
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A video and transcript from the only presidential debate between Harris and Trump shows the interaction never happened.
An Instagram video attempts to rewrite the history of the Sept. 10 presidential debate between President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, concocting an insulting moment directed at Harris with the help of editing tools.
The Instagram account Breaking911, which describes itself as "America’s #1 Alternative News Source," shows Trump and Harris listening to a question from a moderator who sounds like Chris Wallace, a news anchor who recently announced his departure from CNN.
"For the final part of the debate, we asked each of the two candidates to choose a song that best describes the opposing candidate. We will now play the song President Trump picked, that he thinks best describes Vice President Kamala Harris," the Wallace-styled voiceover says in the Instagram post.
The 1995 song "Hoochie Mama" by 2 Live Crew plays as Harris shakes her head incredulously.
This never happened, and the audio was likely generated with artificial intelligence.
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Featured Fact-check
CNN did not moderate the debate between Trump and Harris; ABC News did.
The debate transcript shows the interaction never occurred.
Also, neither video of Harris or Trump in the post is from the Sept. 10 presidential debate. The clip of Trump is from his June 27 CNN debate with President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the presidential race in July. And Harris’ clip is from the July 31, 2019, CNN Democratic presidential primary debate.
We rate the claim that Trump chose a provocative song to describe Harris during a presidential debate Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Instagram post (archived), Nov. 14, 2024
Rap Genius, Hoochie Mama, accessed Nov. 15, 2024
YouTube, ABC News Presidential Debate: Harris and Trump meet in Philadelphia, Sept. 10, 2024
Roll Call, Debate: ABC Hosts a Presidential Debate with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, Sept. 10, 2024
YouTube, CNN Presidential Debate: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump June 27, 2024
YouTube, Tulsi Gabbard rips Kamala Harris’ record on criminal prosecutions, July 31, 2019
CNN Transcripts, Second Night of Democratic Debates, July 31, 2019
The Associated Press, Chris Wallace is leaving CNN. He says he wants to see what the new media environment has to offer, Nov. 12, 2024
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Donald Trump didn’t play the song ‘Hoochie Mama’ for Kamala Harris during a debate
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