President Joe Biden announced on July 21 that he is withdrawing his candidacy and will no longer seek a second term as president. In his announcement, Biden said current Vice President Kamala Harris has his “full support and endorsement.”
After Biden’s announcement, a video claiming to show Harris stumbling over her words went viral on X, garnering over 2 million views.
The viral 22-second clip claims Harris said: “Today is today. And yesterday was today yesterday. Tomorrow will be today tomorrow. So live today, so the future today will be as the past today as it is tomorrow.”
Some people who commented on the video questioned whether it was actually real.
THE QUESTION
Is the video of Vice President Kamala Harris saying “today is today” real?
THE SOURCES
- Facebook live stream of Harris speaking at a reproductive freedom rally
- Official White House transcript of Harris’ remarks
- InVID, a video forensics tool
- RevEye, a reverse image tool
THE ANSWER
No, the video of Vice President Kamala Harris saying “today is today” is not real.
WHAT WE FOUND
The video of Vice President Kamala Harris saying “today is today” is not real – it’s been altered. The footage of Harris was taken from a 2023 speech at Howard University, and doctored audio was added to the now-viral video to make it appear as if Harris made the comments.
VERIFY conducted a reverse image search using keyframes in the viral video and traced it back to Harris’ speech during a reproductive freedom rally at Howard University on April 25, 2023. The rally was live streamed on Facebook by the nonprofit NARAL Pro-Choice America.
The Facebook livestream video and a White House transcript of Harris’ remarks at the rally do not contain the “today is today” quote that was added to the viral video. Harris is also wearing the same clothing and two of the same people are shown standing behind her in both the altered video and the real video.
Another indicator that the viral video has been altered is the writing on the sign on Harris’ podium. The sign featured in the real video says, “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom.” But in the altered video, the words on the sign are blurred.
VERIFY previously found that the altered video was originally shared on April 28, 2023, by @Ramble_Rants, an account that often shares edited videos of prominent politicians.
Although Harris did not actually say the “today is today” quote in the altered video, some people on social media still criticized her actual remarks, calling them “word salad.”
“So I think it’s very important — as you have heard from so many incredible leaders — for us, at every moment in time, and certainly this one, to see the moment in time in which we exist and are present, and to be able to contextualize it, to understand where we exist in the history and in the moment as it relates not only to the past, but the future,” Harris said during her speech.
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