Did Kamala Harris Tell Hecklers They Were ‘At the Wrong Rally’? (2024)

Prominent social media users are claiming that Vice President Kamala Harris told attendees at a campaign event, “Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally,” in response to hecklers shouting “Jesus is Lord.”

There is no dispute over whether Harris said what was claimed. A video clip from a Harris campaign rally in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on Thursday shows her saying those exact words, and her own campaign’s official rapid response account, “Kamala HQ,” shared the clip of Harris responding to what it called “MAGA hecklers.”

However, it is unclear what heckler remarks Harris was addressing with her comments. While some outlets reported that Harris was responding to shouts of “lies,” others have said her comment came in response to religious-oriented comments.

Catholic Vote, a nonprofit political advocacy group, shared the clip on X. “Kamala Harris exposes her vile hatred toward Christians once again by ridiculing a rallygoer for invoking the name of God,” the group captioned in its tweet.

Daily Wire commentator Michael Knowles also tweeted out the clip to his 1.1 million followers on X, asking, “Which side are you on?”

“Christians are not welcome in Kamala’s Democrat Party,” the right-wing online personality Charlie Kirk tweeted with the video clip to his 3.6 million X followers. “Vote accordingly.”

The video shows Harris speaking on abortion policy—criticizing former President Donald Trump for nominating three Supreme Court justices who later ruled in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade—when she pauses to address hecklers.

“Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally,” Harris said. “No, I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street,” she added, presumably referring to Trump’s rally held the following day in Detroit, Michigan.

Campaign rallies often elicit comments from attendees, but those comments are not always discernible based on audio or video coverage, so it is difficult to discern what prompted Harris’ comments.

An official White House transcript of the campaign rally offers one interpretation of the heckler’s shouts. “Lies. Lies. That’s a lie,” an audience member is said to have shouted directly prior to Harris’ rebuttal.

Several other media outlets have reported similar remarks made by attendees that prompted the vice president to respond. “Lies! Lies! Lies!” reported The Independent, a British-based news outlet. Rolling Stone and Salon both reported that Harris responded to a heckler saying, “That’s a lie.”

However, other outlets have reported hearing different comments in that moment. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Harris was responding to the remark, “Jesus is Lord.”

Two students of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse—the campaign event took place at a university venue—later told Fox News that Harris was responding to their comments. “Abortion is the sacrament of Satan,” Luke Polaske, a junior, said he shouted after Harris criticized Roe v. Wade being overturned. He added that he then shouted, along with fellow student Grant Beth, “Christ is Lord” and “Jesus is King.”

Video footage of the campaign rally aired by Fox News shows protesters shouting a similar variation, “Christ is King” and “Jesus is Lord.” However, the video clip does not show who made the comments, or include Harris’ “wrong rally” rebuttal. Polaske also claimed that Harris “100 percent was talking to us,” and that after their remarks, campaign staff removed him and Beth from the event.

The Dispatch Fact Check has reached out to the Kamala Harris campaign, Luke Polaske, and Grant Beth for comment.

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