Fact check: No evidence Kamala Harris ever said 'looters are just feeding their hungry kids'

McKenzie Sadeghi, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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The claim: Kamala Harris said 'looters are just feeding their hungry kids'

As businesses across the country board up their stores ahead of Election Day out of concern for possible violence, social media posts have emerged claiming Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris defended looting.

"KAMALA HARRIS says Looters are just feeding their hungry kids?" reads an Oct. 28 Facebook post that has been shared over 1,800 times. "I didn't know they could eat SHOES, WASHING MACHINES, and TV's??"

Similar versions of the claim have been posted to Facebook and Twitter.

USA TODAY reached out to the users for comment on the source of the quote.

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No evidence Harris ever said that

There is no evidence that Harris has ever said "looters are just feeding their hungry kids."

A search for the quote on Harris' official campaign Twitter and Facebook page comes up with no results, nor does it appear on Politiwoops, a database of deleted tweets from politicians run by ProPublica.

Harris' remarks at her recent campaign stops have focused on encouraging early voting and addressing climate change and federal assistance, according to reporting by the USA TODAY Network.

There are no news reports of Harris saying people loot to feed hungry children. Chris Harris, Kamala Harris' communications director, told Check Your Fact that it is "not a real quote."

USA TODAY reported that Harris has previously said protests would not stop, however, she has condemned acts of violence, including looting.

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Harris has condemned looting

Most recently, Harris and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden released a joint statement Oct. 27 following the death of Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man killed by Philadelphia police Oct. 26.

"No amount of anger at the very real injustices in our society excuses violence. Attacking police officers and vandalizing small businesses, which are already struggling during a pandemic, does not bend the moral arc of the universe closer to justice," the two Democrats said in the statement.

Biden and Harris went on to call looting "not a protest'' but instead a "crime" that "draws attention away from the real tragedy of a life cut short."

Harris also condemned looting in August following protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

"We must always defend peaceful protest and peaceful protesters," Harris said. "We should not confuse them with those looting and committing acts of violence."

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Our rating: False

There is no evidence or reports that Harris ever said looters are just feeding their hungry kids. Harris and Biden have both condemned looting and acts of violence. We rate this claim FALSE, because it is not supported by our research.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Kamala Harris has condemned looting; claim online is false