Did Kamala Harris' simplistic explanations of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on a podcast demonstrate she has a limited understanding of geopolitics? No, that's not true: This claim leaves out key context. Her answer was in response to the host, who asked Harris to explain the conflict in "layman's terms." Layman's terms is defined as "simple language that anyone can understand," per Merriam-Webster's dictionary.
The claim appeared in a post on X, formerly Twitter, (archived here) where it was posted on July 21, 2024. The caption read, "Seriously? This is the new nominee?" An audio recording, with accompanying text, attached to the post was showing a Fox News segment where Harris was talking about Ukraine and Russia. Harris stated:
So, Ukraine is a country in Europe. It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country. Russia decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine. So basically that's wrong.
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Mon Jul 22 19:08:11 2024 UTC)
Underneath the Fox News transcript of Harris' quote is "THE MORNING HUSTLE MARCH 1, 2022," indicating the source of the quote.
Harris was interviewed on the podcast barely a week after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
The Morning Hustle is a podcast that focuses on a "entertaining, humorous and informative take on urban pop culture from a Milennial and Gen Z point of view," per their website. Lead Stories found a clip of the March 1, 2022, interview with Harris, and at 2:56, it includes the moment leading up to the quote that the claim focuses on (archived here):
HOST: For those that just joining us, we're talking to Vice President Kamala Harris and if you're watching any level of news, even social media, you're seeing everything that's going on right now in the Ukraine. Break it down in layman's terms for people who don't understand what's going on and how can this directly affect the people in the United States.
HARRIS: So, Ukraine is a country in Europe. It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country. Russia decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine. So, basically that's wrong.
Layman's terms is defined as "simple language that anyone can understand," according to Merriam-Webster. Harris was following the directions of the podcast host.
More Lead Stories fact checks about Kamala Harris are here.
