Did Kamala Harris respond with a "blank stare" when a CBS News reporter mentioned that Donald Trump had called for Harris to take a cognitive test? No, that's not true: A video circulating on social media that shows Harris' response has been edited. In the full video, Harris actually challenged Donald Trump, her Republican presidential rival, to take the "same" cognitive test as well.
The claim appeared in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on October 28, 2024 (archived here). The caption read:
CBS: President Trump is calling for you to take a cognitive test.
KAMALA: *blank stare*
This is how the post looked on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Wed Oct 30 15:30:24 2024 UTC)
The post, which appeared on a verified account belonging to the Trump campaign, includes an 18-second snippet from CBS News anchor Norah O'Donnell's interview with Democratic presidential candidate Harris that aired on October 28, 2024 (archived here). O'Donnell says:
Donald Trump was on Joe Rogan and he called you, Madam Vice President, a 'very low IQ person,' and said 'I think she needs to take a cognitive test. I think Kamala should have a test because there's something missing. There's something wrong with her.'
The clip then shows Harris nodding and grinning.
The video on X cuts out before O'Donnell continues and asks Harris a question. In the full version of the interview shown on CBS News' account on YouTube, O'Donnell makes the same comments as in the X post, but then asks at the 3:03 mark:
Would you take a cognitive test?
Harris responds:
Sure. I would challenge him to take the same one. But here's the thing -- he's, he's ...you know, this is what he has resorted to, and I think he actually is increasingly unstable and unhinged, and has resorted to name calling because he actually has no plan for the American people.
Lead Stories contacted CBS News to ask about the edit of the Harris interview and will update this fact check if they reply.
Trump called Harris a "very low IQ person" and suggested she should take a cognitive test during an interview on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast (archived here), which appeared on YouTube on October 25, 2024 (see the 1:23:34 mark).
Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims regarding Kamala Harris can be found here. Our fact checks of claims about the 2024 U.S. presidential election can be found here.
