Media outlets, Democratic legislators, and officials from the White House offered their support for Vice President Harris this week concerning her involvement in the border crisis, her past endorsement of the contentious Minnesota Freedom Fund, and her classification as the “most liberal” U.S. senator according to a government accountability organization.
Debate arose this week regarding whether Harris served as the “border czar” earlier in the Biden administration, despite her previous commitments to take charge of border and immigration issues.
In 2021, Harris stated her intention to spearhead diplomatic efforts with El Salvador, Guatemala, and other countries contributing to migration towards the U.S.
CREDIBILITY OF WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM QUESTIONED FOLLOWING BIDEN’S EXIT: ‘SCANDAL’
Liberal media outlets, Democratic lawmakers, and White House officials backed Vice President Harris recently regarding her response to the border crisis, her past support of the Minnesota Freedom Fund, and her classification as the “most liberal” U.S. senator by a government accountability group.
(REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
White House staff and Democratic lawmakers dismiss notion of Harris as ‘border czar’
The term “border czar” was informally assigned to Harris in 2021 when President Biden designated her to address the “root causes” of illegal immigration.
However, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and other members of the president’s team have consistently denied that Harris was ever tasked with leading the response to the border crisis. Recently, media outlets also made significant efforts to clarify the role of Harris in the context of the border situation.
“We will clarify the misrepresentation of the vice president. She was never a border czar. Independent fact-checkers have confirmed that this label is unfounded,” declared Jean-Pierre.
Axios faced scrutiny on Wednesday for a piece asserting that Harris was not the ‘border czar’, contradicting its earlier reports. The outlet subsequently updated its article, admitting to having “mistakenly” labeled her a “border czar” in previous coverage.
Many other news organizations, including fact-checkers like PolitiFact, have also stated that it is incorrect to call Harris the “border czar.” Fox News Digital reached out to several media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, CBS, The New York Times, and Axios, questioning their recent rejection of the term “border czar” and if they were influenced by the Harris campaign. Most did not respond.
Both PolitiFact and USA Today confirmed to Fox News Digital that they faced no pressure from the Harris campaign and operate as independent news organizations.
A viral clip from NewsBusters illustrated media organizations’ shifting stances on this terminology before and after Harris announced her candidacy for the 2024 election.
POLL SHOWS HARRIS CLOSING IN ON TRUMP AFTER BIDEN’S EXIT
TRUMP QUICKLY LABELS HARRIS AS ‘MORE LEFT THAN BERNIE SANDERS’
Debate over Harris’ former support for Minnesota Freedom Fund
Reporters also challenged Harris’ endorsement of the Minnesota Freedom Fund amid the protests following the death of George Floyd in June 2020.
During her presidential campaign in 2020, Harris posted on X (formerly Twitter) urging support for the fund, which aided in the release of individuals from incarceration: “If able, please donate to the @MNFreedomFund to assist in posting bail for those protesting in Minnesota.”
CBS News attempted to counter a claim made during a Thursday article titled, “Despite Trump’s assertion and 2020 tweet indicating support, Harris has never contributed to Minnesota Freedom Fund.”
Trump addressed a rally in North Carolina stating, “One of the dangerous criminals Kamala helped bail out was Shawn Michael Tillman. A repeat offender who, with Harris’s assistance, was released. He subsequently went on to murder someone at a train platform in St. Paul, shooting him six times while on the ground.”
“While some of Trump’s points are accurate—Shawn Michael Tillman did murder a man in St. Paul after being released—other aspects of the former president’s comments are misleading,” CBS reported.
A local CBS affiliate in Minnesota faced scrutiny on X for stating that Trump “falsely” accused Harris of supporting the bail fund. According to the organization, Harris did not provide any personal donations, but her 2020 post urging contributions remains active.
Site designating Harris as ‘most liberal’ U.S. senator in 2019 removed
GovTrack, which monitors congressional voting, confirmed to Fox News Digital that it has erased a 2019 page that ranked Kamala Harris as the “most liberal” U.S. senator.
(Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
GovTrack confirmed to Fox News Digital that it had removed a page that ranked Kamala Harris as the “most liberal” U.S. senator for the year 2019 within the last two weeks.
This “government transparency website” previously rated Harris as the “most liberal compared to all senators.” At that time, she surpassed Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. However, the web page with this ranking has recently been deactivated.
A columnist from New York Intelligencer offered Harris advice on combating the “too liberal” narrative in light of this news.
Certain media figures are now promoting Harris as a centrist candidate leading up to November.
“The View” host Alyssa Farah Griffin mentioned that while Harris campaigned as a liberal in 2020, she currently conveys a “centrist” message.
The White House has yet to provide a commentary on the matter.
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Contributions to this report were made by Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom, Chris Pandolfo, Hugh Hewitt, Kyle Morris, and Yael Halon.
