Donald Trump's running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) has been mimicking the former president's oldest son as he tells "silly" lies about Vice President Kamala Harris, a Washington Post analyst reports.
Vance has lashed out against Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee in the upcoming presidential election, as she surges ahead in swing states and he faces unflattering comparisons to the late Sen. John McCain's notoriously unsuccsessful running mate Sarah Palin.
On Tuesday, fact-checker Glenn Kessler took an eye-rolling look at three comments he described as "a trio of silly, false claims."
They involve gas stoves, red meat and childless Americans, who Vance has repeatedly criticized as sociopaths.
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Kessler notes, "A Vance spokesman did not respond to a request to provide evidence for these claims, which seem rooted in misleading clips that circulate on right-wing social media."
1. “She has said things like, ‘it’s reasonable not to have children over climate change.’ I think that’s the exact opposite message we should be sending to our young families.” — Vance in conversation with CNN anchor Dana Bash on Aug. 11.
Kessler tracked this claim down to a less-than-reliable source.
"There is zero evidence that Harris said that," writes Kessler. "Instead, Vance appears to be channeling a misleading Facebook post by Donald Trump Jr."
2. “She wants to take away your gas stoves.” — Vance in Atlanta on Aug. 3.
"Harris has never advocated taking away gas stoves and in fact has tweeted photos of herself cooking with a gas stove," writes Kessler. "The Biden administration never had a policy on gas stoves. And Harris never said a word about it."
3. “She even wants to take away your ability to eat red meat. That’s how out there she is. That’s real. The fake news will fact-check it. They will fact-check it true. She actually said that.” — Vance in Atlanta on Aug. 3
"We should note that Donald Trump also makes this claim, often adding that she wants 'to get rid of cows,'" writes Kessler. "Harris has never said anything like this."
Kessler writes that Harris did express support for adapting the U.S. Department of Agriculture dietary recommendations to raise consumer awareness about red meat's links to health issues and climate change.
Harris also admitted she enjoys cheeseburgers.
"Harris never said she would ban red meat or hinder the ability of people to eat meat," Kessler writes. "There is no requirement for Americans to follow dietary guidelines — so people can eat as much red meat as they want."
