Left-wing fact-checker Snopes admitted the claim is untrue
Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign posted a debunked claim that former President Trump said there were "very fine people" on both sides of the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally in 2017.
"7 years ago today, white supremacists and neo-Nazis marched on Charlottesville, chanting racist and antisemitic bile and killing an innocent woman. This is who Donald Trump calls ‘very fine people,’" the Kamala HQ account posted on X along with a video.
7 years ago today, white supremacists and neo-Nazis marched on Charlottesville, chanting racist and antisemitic bile and killing an innocent woman.
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 12, 2024
This is who Donald Trump calls “very fine people” pic.twitter.com/FfHJhWVR9B
Critics of Trump have claimed for years that he called neo-Nazis "very fine people" when he was actually talking about people protesting over a Robert E. Lee statue, with President Biden and his allies in the mainstream media regularly pushing the notion.
But earlier this year, left-leaning fact-checking website Snopes acknowledged that Trump never called neo-Nazis "very fine people" during his press conference following the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally in 2017.
FACT-CHECKER ADMITS TRUMP NEVER CALLED CHARLOTTESVILLE NEO-NAZIS ‘VERY FINE PEOPLE’ IN BLOW TO BIDEN
Left: Vice President Kamala Harris. Right: Former President Donald Trump. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
"In a news conference after the rally protesting the planned removal of a Confederate statue, Trump did say there were 'very fine people on both sides,' referring to the protesters and the counterprotesters. He said in the same statement he wasn't talking about neo-Nazis and white nationalists, who he said should be 'condemned totally,'" Snopes wrote.
Snopes debunking the claim aligned with years of arguments from Trump's camp, who long stated, backed by the transcript and video, that his comments were taken out of context. The fact-checker noted that the false claim about Trump's comments "spread like wildfire" on the left.
Snopes' ruling was thought to remove key ammunition for anti-Trump pundits and politicians, but the Harris campaign sparked backlash for using it anyway.
"This is a hoax," journalist Libby Emmons wrote. "You fell for a widely debunked hoax. Is that what fighting for the future looks like?"
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE DOUBLES DOWN ON 'CHEAP FAKE' BIDEN VIDEOS: 'SO MUCH MISINFORMATION'
One person called the claim the "hoax of the millennium," while others pointed to Snopes and called for X to hit the Harris campaign with Community Notes.
Trump’s campaign responded, writing, "A lie that has been so thoroughly and exhaustively debunked that repeating it insults the intelligence of the American people. Pretty much sums up Kamala's campaign."
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Many others responded on social media:
This is a hoax. You fell for a widely debunked hoax. Is that what fighting for the future looks like?
— Libby Emmons (@libbyemmons) August 12, 2024
A lie that has been so thoroughly and exhaustively debunked that repeating it insults the intelligence of the American people.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 12, 2024
Pretty much sums up Kamala's campaign. https://t.co/AegbGtGXRL pic.twitter.com/JcSlVdUJ7R
Even Snopes says this is false. Trump never called them “very fine people.” @CommunityNotes pic.twitter.com/rosHVeAtwP
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 12, 2024
This hoax has been debunked already
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 12, 2024
Next
Liberal Snopes even said this was false.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 12, 2024
More misinformation coming from Kamala HQ. @kamalahqlies is tracking all the lies coming from Kamala HQ. pic.twitter.com/KeUw166glB
This is a disgusting LIE @CommunityNotes please correct this! Democracy cannot coexist with deliberate spreading of misinformation!
— John Doyle (@ComradeDoyIe) August 12, 2024
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
Brian Flood is a media editor/reporter for FOX News Digital. Story tips can be sent to