Fact check: Kamala Harris’s interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier

In a often contentious, sometimes testy exchange, Vice President Kamala Harris went connected Fox News and fielded anchor Bret Baier’s questions connected immigration, the system and her argumentation differences with her Republican challenger, erstwhile President Donald Trump, arsenic good arsenic her boss, President Joe Biden.

Harris, the Democratic statesmanlike nominee, did the interview, her first-ever connected Fox, connected October 16 arsenic portion of her home-stretch election interrogation blitz.

Baier asked Harris however galore migrants had been released into the state nether the Biden-Harris administration, however she would trim the number and wherefore immoderate of her stances had shifted since her 2019 statesmanlike campaign. He asked Harris whether immigrants illegally successful the US should suffice for driver’s licences, escaped tuition oregon healthcare, saying her moving mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, had approved laws that did this.

Harris, meanwhile, called Trump unfit to serve, and said galore of his erstwhile advisers had said the same. She besides said his plans would weaken the economy, but hers would fortify it.

Harris besides pointedly said her way would disagree from Biden’s. “My presidency volition not beryllium a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency,” she stated. “And similar each caller president that comes into office, I volition bring my beingness experiences, my nonrecreational experiences, and caller and caller ideas.”

We fact-checked respective of Harris’s claims and the claims that Baier brought up.

Tim Walz signed laws to marque immigrants eligible for driver’s licences, tuition scholarships, healthcare

Baier said Harris’s moving mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, signed into authorities instrumentality provisions “allowing immigrants successful the state illegally to use for driver’s licences, to suffice for escaped tuition astatine universities, to beryllium enrolled successful escaped wellness care”.

Mostly True. Walz signed a bill in 2023 that lets radical successful Minnesota, careless of migration status, use for a licence oregon ID card. To get a licence, radical indispensable conscionable definite requirements. Walz said the measure would marque roads safer due to the fact that it ensured drivers successful the authorities are licensed and transportation insurance.

Walz signed different measure that created a assistance programme to screen tuition costs astatine Minnesota nationalist colleges and universities for students whose household income is little than $80,000 a year. Students who are illegally successful the US tin use if they person attended a Minnesota schoolhouse for astatine slightest 3 years and graduated oregon received a GED certificate successful Minnesota.

Walz besides signed authorities that enables immigrants who are successful the state illegally to enrol successful MinnesotaCare, the state’s publicly-subsidised wellness security programme for low-income residents. But dissimilar what Baier said, MinnesotaCare is not wholly free. People enrolled successful MinnesotaCare wage premiums based connected household size and income. There are besides cost-sharing requirements, specified arsenic copayments and deductibles.

Trump described American soldiers’ encephalon injuries arsenic headaches

Harris told Baier that, “when we had an American subject basal that was attacked, wherever American soldiers suffered traumatic encephalon injuries”, Trump “dismissed them arsenic headaches”.

True.

Harris was referring to a January 8, 2020 Iran onslaught connected US soldiers successful Iraq. More than 100 soldiers were diagnosed with traumatic encephalon injuries, according to the Pentagon.

Trump has repeatedly called the injuries “headaches”.

In 2020, Trump said helium had “heard that they had headaches” and added it “is not precise serious”. Trump repeated this assertion successful an October 1 quality league successful Wisconsin.

After Iran attacked Israel connected October 1, Trump responded to a question astir whether helium should person been stronger connected Iran aft the 2020 onslaught that injured US troops. He said: “What does injured mean? You mean due to the fact that they had a headache due to the fact that the bombs ne'er deed the fort?”

Trump’s  “enemy from within” warning

Harris said Trump “is the 1 who talks astir an force within, an force within, talking astir the American people, suggesting helium would crook the American military, connected the American people”.

True.

In a Fox News interrogation October 13, Trump said helium believes “the force from within” would origin chaos connected Election Day, suggesting that it is simply a occupation that the National Guard oregon subject mightiness request to handle.

Trump added connected to the comments, wide thought to be about Democrats and others who disagree with him, a time aboriginal successful remarks to a assemblage successful Pennsylvania. “They are truthful atrocious and frankly, they’re evil,” Trump said. “They’re evil. What they’ve done, they’ve weaponized, they’ve weaponized our elections.”

Nobel laureates described Harris’s economical docket arsenic ‘superior’ to Trump’s

Harris said 16 Nobel laureates indicated that her economical program “would fortify our economy, (Trump’s) would marque it weaker, would ignite ostentation and invitation a recession by the mediate of adjacent year”.

Mostly True.

Harris correctly describes what the Nobel laureates said astir ostentation during a Trump presidency: “There is rightly a interest that Donald Trump volition reignite this inflation.”

But portion the radical describes Harris’s docket arsenic “vastly superior” to Trump’s, their missive does not specifically foretell a recession by the mediate of 2025.

Rather, the radical wrote: “We judge that a 2nd Trump word would person a antagonistic interaction connected the US’s economical lasting successful the satellite and a destabilizing effect connected the US’s home economy.”

The 16 economists are George Akerlof, Angus Deaton, Claudia Goldin, Oliver Hart, Eric S. Maskin, Daniel L. McFadden, Paul R. Milgrom, Roger B. Myerson, Edmund S. Phelps, Paul M. Romer, Alvin E. Roth, William F. Sharp, Robert J. Shiller, Christopher A. Sims, Joseph Stiglitz, and Robert B. Wilson.