Does a social media video show Kamala Harris giving a speech in Atlanta on September 20, 2024, while she appeared to be intoxicated? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found the original version of the speech, and the version circulating on social media has been slowed down to make her sound intoxicated. There is no credible evidence to support the claim that the vice president was "hammered" during her speech.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted on TikTok on September 21, 2024, under the on-screen title, "She is hammered. This is insane!" The video's caption said:
There has to be something that can be done about this. #trump2024🇺🇸 #Maga #Trump2024 #donaldtrump #kamalaharrisvp #jesussaves #AFF #austinforeman
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Sep 23 15:59:26 2024 UTC)
Other than providing the altered video, the post offered nothing else to support its implication that Harris was drunk when she gave the speech in Atlanta in September 2024. The video with the slowed-down audio is embedded below:
@2therepublic1776 There has to be something that can be done about this. #trump2024🇺🇸 #Maga #Trump2024 #donaldtrump #kamalaharrisvp #jesussaves #AFF #austinforeman ♬ original sound - 2theRepublic1776
Original videos
Lead Stories found original versions of the speech online; one (archived here) that matched the camera angle of the video used in the TikTok post and one (archived here) from a different angle. In both versions, the vice president speaks at her faster, regular pace and does not sound "hammered," drunk or intoxicated, as various social-media posts described it. The two videos, which are not slowed down, are included below:
Same angle
Different angle
During her address, Harris does briefly change her speech pattern to do a quick impression of "Trump and his running mate," but then switches back to her normal speaking voice.
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As of the time this fact check was written, FACTLY had reviewed a similar claim in May 2023.
Our fact checks of claims related to Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party's 2024 presidential nominee, can be found here. Our fact checks of claims about the 2024 U.S. presidential elections are here.
