Kamala Harris' campaign posts misleading clip of Trump at rally

"Trump: Would that be okay, North Carolina? (He is in Pennsylvania)," says an August 17, 2024 post from "Kamala HQ," the official rapid response account for Harris, the vice president and Democratic nominee.

Image

Screenshot from X taken August 19, 2024

The post shows a six-second clip of former president Trump, standing before a podium stamped with instructions to "Text Pennsylvania," saying "Would that be OK, North Carolina? I don't think so, right? They want me to speak all day."

Similar claims reverberated across X and other platforms such as Instagram and Threads following Trump's August 17 rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, during which the Republican nominee blasted his White House rival with personal attacks as new polling showed her making major gains in key battleground states. 

"Trump thinks he's in North Carolina but he's in Pennsylvania," one such post says.

Trump, who spent months assailing Joe Biden as too old to effectively lead the country, has seen those age-based attacks backfire after the Democratic incumbent president called off his reelection bid in July. Trump, who at 78 is now the more senior White House candidate by far, would be the oldest president ever sworn in if he is elected in November.

Claims that he addressed his crowd by wrongly naming the state he was speaking from are misleading.

Livestreamed footage from the rally shows that early in his remarks, Trump acknowledged several groups in the stands (archived here).

One he referred to as the "Front Row Joes," a term given to diehard superfans who travel the country to attend his rallies. Another, he said, hailed from North Carolina.

"Look at all these 'Front Row Joes' over here," Trump said as he interacted with members of the audience to his left. "They've only been -- you know, we have a couple of groups here, they're at about 222 events. 'Front Row Joes,' stand up, wave your hands. You guys are great. Patriots.

"But I have another group from a place called North Carolina. Has anybody ever heard of North -- we love North Carolina. The beautiful ladies over there. This is number, what? Two-hundred and seventeen. So this is number 217."

He continued: "They're great women, and they've been with us from the very beginning. They were with us from the beginning in 2016, when we had the four greatest years this country has ever had. They were with us then. Thank you very much. North Carolina. We're doing well in North Carolina. Thank you, darling."

About 15 minutes later, Trump gestured in the same direction as he discussed the length of his rallies and addressed criticism that he rambles in his speeches.

"I go for sometimes two hours, two and a half hours, because you know, people are waiting outside for three days, four days," he said. "You guys were waiting out there for a long time. 'Front Row Joes' are waiting, I don't know how you guys do it. And I feel, I have an obligation to speak and speak in a certain way and speak a little bit longer. You know, how would you like it: a guy's waiting with his family for three and a half, four days, they have a tent and the tent is set up, they have hundreds of them and they wait, and then I walk in, speak for 15 minutes and leave? I don't know, somehow. Would that be OK, North Carolina? I don't think so, right? They want me to speak all day."

Reached by AFP, a Trump campaign spokesperson said Harris's campaign was "mimicking their candidate as frauds and liars."

The spokesperson pointed to the Trump campaign's response on X to the "Kamala HQ" post, where they wrote: "President Trump was obviously referring to the Front Row Joes from North Carolina in the audience, whom he recognized earlier in his speech" (archived here).

Photos and videos from the event show that some spectators seated in the direction of Trump's gestures were wearing shirts that said "Front Row Joes" (archived here, here and here).

Trump also mentioned Pennsylvania numerous times during the speech.

"Thank you very much Pennsylvania. I love Pennsylvania. Thank you very much, thank you," he said as he took the stage. "It's great to be back at this beautiful commonwealth."

AFP contacted the Harris campaign for comment, but no response was forthcoming.

AFP has debunked other misinformation about the 2024 election here.