Fact Check: No, Kamala Harris Didn't Say She Will 'Shutter Veterans Affairs' and Give the Money to Refugees

Anna Rascouët-Paz
·3 min read
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Claim:

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris announced plans to cut funding to the Veterans Administration (VA) by shuttering VA facilities to give the money to refugees.

Rating:

Rating: Originated as Satire
Rating: Originated as Satire

After U.S. President Joe Biden ended his bid for reelection and Vice President Kamala Harris entered the 2024 presidential race, an old meme resurged claiming that she wanted to close the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and assign the money to support refugees (archived):

The claim, which came to our attention when several readers emailed us screenshots of the "copypasta," also spread on Facebook. The allegations drew outrage from those who shared it. "Give the VETS what they need! When is enough gonna be enough???" said one. "Our veterans deserve more than any refugee!" wrote another.

This rumor had been circulating since February 2021. The text of the copypasta originally came from an article on the America's Last Line of Defense website. It posited that she was planning to shutter VA facilities and reallocate the money to support refugee families. The article appeared to have been originally published on Feb. 9, 2021. The bolded portion below is what appeared in the Facebook and X posts:

Military-Hating Kamala Wants To Shut Down The VA

Now, Kamala Harris wants to take our vets back to the hell they had experienced under BHO. That was somewhat to be expected, but no details have yet been given except for one very significant one announced by Kamala Harris today.

Harris made an announcement before some group in Chicago:

"The United States government cannot continue to pay for the every need of what has become a special class of citizen. Veterans are equal to us, not better than. Veterans Affairs coddles them. It creates a dependency upon us which is not doing these former soldiers any good. They need to learn to live on their own two feet and be responsible adults.

The easiest way to assist them on this journey is to cut them off. Within these next four years, we will be shuttering the VA, taking away soldier welfare. The money saved will go to better use in assisting refugee families. These poor folks seek asylum with us and need a boost and it is our responsibility as a nation to provide it.

So here's a message to the soldier boys. Get a job."

This woman has a lot of nerve speaking to our brave military personnel in that way. These men and women sacrificed themselves for this country. Harris has never even come close to doing such a thing.

But no one could have watched her say it because the article originated with a website whose tagline at the time was "Satire for your Confirmation Bias." Its disclaimer described its output as being humorous or satirical in nature, as follows:

Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical.

In fact, we debunked this claim in 2021.

For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.

— Snopes' archives contributed to this report.