Fox anchor Bill Hemmer falsely stated that Kamala Harris said she met with Vladimir Putin

Harris said she met with Zelensky, but Trump has been pushing misinformation that she met with Putin

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer inaccurately claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris “mentioned that she had met with Putin … five days before the war started.” 

What Harris actually said — and what  played in a video montage minutes before Hemmer made his inaccurate claim — was, “Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met with President Zelensky to warn him about Russia’s plan to invade.” 

The false claim that Harris had a meeting with Putin prior to the outbreak of war has been circulating due to former President Donald Trump, who made the claim during a rally in North Carolina on Wednesday.  

Trump again pushed the false claim yesterday on Fox News, and host Brian Kilmeade later clarified, “We don’t have confirmation that the vice president went to Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin.” 

This was a bit of a surprise to host Ainsley Earhardt, who responded, “I’ve heard that said a lot. You don’t have confirmation that that’s true?”   

Since misinformation has been spreading about Harris meeting with Putin, it’s especially incumbent upon Hemmer to issue a correction for his inaccurate claim. 

 

From the August 23, 2024, edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom

[VIDEO BEGINS]

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met with President Zelenskyy to warn him about Russia’s plan to invade. I helped mobilize a global response, over 50 countries, to defend against Putin’s aggression.

[VIDEO ENDS]

…

BILL HEMMER (CO-ANCHOR): She mentioned that she had met with Putin, what was it, five days before the war started. You know, the transition for that was, hey, I got all the NATO allies together. But, I think the point is, well, stop the damn war. Don’t let it happen.