Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris met at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they debated over foreign policy, economic policy, abortion and other topics.
Here is a fact-check of some of their claims.
“But what Donald Trump did—let’s talk about this—with COVID is he actually thanked President Xi for what he did during COVID. Look at his tweet, ‘Thank you, President Xi, exclamation point,’ when we know that Xi was responsible for lacking and not giving us transparency about the origins of COVID.”
Trump praised China and Chinese President Xi Jinping several times in January and February 2020, according to Politico. Trump also thanked Jinping in a January 2020 tweet.
China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2020
“China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!” Trump tweeted January 24, 2020.
CNN reported in April 2020 that Trump praised China 37 times between January and April 1, 2020. During an April 1, 2020 press briefing, Trump said that he had a “good relationship” with China and Jinping, the outlet reported.
China has “froze meaningful efforts to trace the origins of the coronavirus pandemic,” according to the Associated Press. The U.S. intelligence community is divided over whether the COVID-19 pandemic originated from an animal or a lab leak, NBC News reported.
“But understand if Donald Trump were to be elected, he will sign a national abortion ban. Understand in his Project 2025, there would be a national abortion — a monitor that would be monitoring your pregnancies, your miscarriages.” -Harris
Check Your Fact previously debunked a claim from Harris that Trump and Project 2025 support a national abortion ban. Trump in April declined to endorse a national abortion ban, saying that limits should instead be left up to individual states to determine, according to AP News.
Heritage Foundation spokesperson Ellen Keenan confirmed to Check Your Fact via email that Project 2025 does not call for pregnancy monitoring or a national abortion ban. Keenan also referenced an X post from Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts debunking the claim. “@VP Harris is a liar,” the post reads. “Mandate for Leadership does not call for a national abortion ban or pregnancy monitors.”
When asked during the debate if he would veto a national abortion ban, Trump said, “I’m not in favor of an abortion ban, but it doesn’t matter, because this issue has now been taken over by the states. I wouldn’t have to,” according to The Hill.
A page on the Project 2025 website says that it does not call for an abortion ban without exceptions.
“Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership calls for the government to comply with laws that prevent federal funding of abortion,” it reads. “It also calls for federal support for alternatives to abortion, including adoption.”
She’s been against it for 12 years,” Trump said of Harris’ position on fracking.
During a 2019 town hall event held by CNN, then-presidential candidate Harris said “there’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking” when responding to a question from an audience member.
Similarly, during the vice presidential debate in 2020, Harris said her then-running mate Joe Biden would not “end fracking,” according to Forbes. Harris, however, did not state what her position on the issue was at the time. During the Tuesday night presidential debate against Trump, Harris claimed she made her position on fracking “very clear” in 2020, appearing to reference that year’s vice presidential debate.
More recently, during an August 2024 CNN sit-down interview with her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris said she would not ban fracking, The Hill reported. “As vice president I did not ban fracking. As president I will not ban fracking,” Harris said during the interview, according to the New York Post. Harris also reiterated that her “values had not changed” when CNN host Dana Bash questioned why she had appeared to flip flop on her policy stance, the outlet indicated.
Prior to the CNN sit-down interview with Walz, Harris’ campaign labeled Trump’s claims about the Democratic Vice President’s position on banning fracking as “false,” Politico indicated.
“Trump’s false claims about fracking bans are an obvious attempt to distract from his own plans to enrich oil and gas executives at the expense of the middle class,” Harris’ campaign said in a statement, according to the outlet.
Check Your Fact previously fact-checked Harris’ position on fracking.
“I ended the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and Biden put it back on day one.” – Trump
President Donald Trump instituted sanctions on European companies that worked on construction in the pipeline. The pipeline would move natural gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea. BBC News reported at the time that the U.S. when Trump imposed the sanctions, he described the pipeline as a “tool of coercion.”
The Economist explained the reason for opposition to the pipeline was that many American lawmakers feared that it would give Russia too much leverage over Europe. When Biden became president he overruled those sanctions. Following the end of the sanctions the pipeline was completed in Sept. 2021. (RELATED: Did Trump Call Soldiers ‘Dumb’ During Commercial Break On Fox News?)
Biden later imposed sanctions on the pipeline after Russia invaded Ukraine. The White released a statement on the pipeline saying, “President Putin has provided the world with an overwhelming incentive to move away from Russian gas and to other forms of energy.”
“There is not one member of the military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world for the first time this century.” – Harris
Check Your Fact fact-checked Harris’s claim here.
“When she ran, she was the first one to leave because she failed.” -Trump
Check Your Fact previously fact-checked a similar claim from Trump here.
“We wouldn’t have left $85 billion worth of brand new, beautiful military equipment behind.” -Trump
Check Your Fact previously fact-checked a similar claim from Trump here.
“My opponent has a plan that I call the Trump sales tax, which would be a 20% tax on everyday goods that you rely on to get through the month.” -Harris
Check Your Fact previously fact-checked a similar claim from Harris here.
Elias Atienza, Christine Sellers, Anna Mock and Joseph Caiseri contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: More fact-checks might be added to this article, which will be noted in an update.