In what can only be described as an Olympic-level display of verbal gymnastics, NBC’s fact-checkers have revealed that Vice President Kamala Harris set a new record in political artistry during her debate with former President Donald Trump, racking up an impressive 29 lies in just 90 minutes. And honestly? The fact-checkers almost seemed impressed, even going so far as to say, “She’s good at lying.”
Now, political debates are not exactly known for their adherence to the truth—after all, bending facts has been a key strategy for candidates since the dawn of democracy. But according to NBC, Harris brought the art of deception to new heights, leaving even the most seasoned spin doctors marveling at her performance.
NBC’s fact-checkers were reportedly overwhelmed during the debate, as their meticulously calibrated “Lie-O-Meter”—a tool specially designed to measure political falsehoods—began smoking halfway through Harris’s first answer. “It was unprecedented,” said one exhausted fact-checker. “We’ve covered countless debates over the years, but we’ve never seen the machine overheat like this. At one point, we had to reboot it just to keep up.”
The first red flag came when Harris, responding to a question about the economy, confidently declared, “The Biden administration has single-handedly saved America from a recession.” The fact-checkers quickly pointed out that this was a slight exaggeration, given the ongoing economic challenges and the fact that, you know, inflation exists. But that was just the beginning.
As the night went on, Harris’s “creative” relationship with the truth became the main event. Whether she was discussing Trump’s rally sizes or his administration’s environmental policies, Harris managed to stretch the facts in ways that would make a yoga instructor proud. NBC’s team described it as “an impressive feat of misdirection,” noting that by the end of the debate, viewers were likely too dizzy to know what was true anymore.
Harris’s strategy was clear from the outset: whenever confronted with a difficult question or weak point in her own record, she deployed a mixture of personal attacks, irrelevant anecdotes, and, of course, a few well-placed fibs. It was the political equivalent of tossing a smoke bomb and disappearing into the mist.
Take, for example, the moment when she was asked about her 2019 presidential campaign, particularly her shifting stance on fracking. Rather than give a straightforward answer, Harris pivoted to talking about how she had never taken handouts from her wealthy father. While the fact-checkers noted that this was technically true, they also pointed out that it had absolutely nothing to do with the question at hand. “It’s like she’s mastered the art of answering a question without ever actually answering it,” said one NBC analyst. “It’s impressive in a frustrating kind of way.”
But perhaps her greatest move of the night came during a discussion about abortion. When Trump was floundering with his answer on Roe v. Wade, Harris pounced, making an emotional appeal to women and accusing Trump of pushing “Trump abortion bans” across the country. While her passion was clear, NBC’s fact-checkers quickly noted that the term “Trump abortion bans” was, well, not a thing.
“Her ability to create completely new terms and then treat them like long-established facts is nothing short of remarkable,” said one fact-checker. “We’ve got to give her credit for that. It’s like watching a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat—except the rabbit isn’t real, and neither is the hat.”
To be fair, Harris wasn’t the only one bending the truth that night. Trump, as usual, had his own share of “alternative facts” to contribute to the conversation. From defending the size of his rally crowds to discussing debunked reports about immigrants in Ohio abducting and eating pets, the former president was in peak form, leaving fact-checkers scrambling to keep up.
But according to NBC’s tally, Harris edged out Trump by a significant margin. “Sure, Trump had his moments of exaggeration and bluster, but Kamala was on another level,” said one analyst. “It’s like she was playing chess, and Trump was playing checkers—both were bending the truth, but she did it with style.”
NBC’s final report found that Trump, while certainly no stranger to falsehoods, had only racked up 15 notable lies during the debate—nearly half of Harris’s total. “He just couldn’t keep pace with her,” one fact-checker noted. “It’s like he was trying to fight misinformation with a blunt hammer, while she was weaving a tapestry of half-truths and misdirections. She’s good at lying, no doubt about it.”
The audience, both in the debate hall and at home, was left reeling from the sheer volume of misinformation flying across the stage. Social media exploded with reactions, as viewers tried to make sense of what they had just witnessed.
“Did Kamala just say Trump banned all abortions?” one confused Twitter user asked. “I feel like I missed something.”
Another user tweeted, “I’m not even sure what’s real anymore. Is this debate or performance art?”
Even seasoned political commentators were left scratching their heads. “I’ve covered dozens of debates, but this one was… something else,” said one CNN analyst. “By the end of the night, I wasn’t sure if I was watching a political debate or an improv class where the only rule was ‘make stuff up.’”
Despite NBC’s fact-checking marathon, the Harris campaign remained unfazed by the revelations. In fact, they seemed to embrace the idea that Harris had taken some liberties with the truth, spinning it as a sign of her ability to “adapt” and “connect with voters.”
A spokesperson for the campaign told reporters, “Look, politics is all about storytelling. Sometimes that means adjusting the facts a little to make sure the bigger message gets across. Kamala is great at that, and it’s why she’s such an effective communicator.”
When asked about the 29 lies NBC attributed to Harris during the debate, the spokesperson chuckled. “Twenty-nine? That’s it? Honestly, that’s kind of low for a political debate. I think she could’ve gone for 30.”
As the dust settles from the Harris-Trump showdown, one thing is clear: political debates have become less about who tells the truth and more about who can spin the most convincing narrative. In this latest battle, NBC’s fact-checkers may have labeled Kamala Harris as the night’s most prolific liar, but her ability to wield those lies with precision and confidence is a skill that few can deny.
Whether voters will punish her for stretching the truth—or reward her for doing it so convincingly—remains to be seen. But for now, the Harris campaign seems perfectly comfortable with its candidate’s new title: “She’s good at lying.”
