Altered video changes Harris’ answer in CNN interview | Fact check

A Sept. 25 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows Vice President Kamala Harris being interviewed by CNN’s Dana Bash.
“I wonder what you say to voters who do want to go back when it comes to the economy specifically, because their groceries were less expensive, housing was more affordable when Donald Trump was president,” Bash asks Harris in the video.
In the clip, Harris responds, “Next question, please.”
The post’s caption reads, “Always deflecting the questions.”
The post was liked more than 2,000 times in a day.
More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page
The clip is deceptively edited. Videos and a transcript of the August interview posted by CNN show Harris did not say “next question” to Bash’s question about the economy. Harris made the remark at a different point in the interview, in response to a question about her race.
The clip in the Instagram post shows Harris and her running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, sitting down with Bash, CNN’s chief political correspondent, for an interview that aired Aug. 29.
But video of the interview posted by CNN shows the clip in the post was altered to change Harris’ answer to Bash’s question about voters and the economy. Harris did not deflect the question by saying, “Next question, please.” Rather, Harris said she and President Joe Biden inherited an economy that “had crashed” because of Trump’s “mismanagement” of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The video and a CNN transcript of the exchange show Harris went on to say, in part:
Fact check: Biden, Harris net worth nowhere near viral post’s claim
Harris did make the “next question” remark in the interview, but it came in response to a question about comments Trump had made about Harris’ racial identity. Here’s how that exchange played out, according to the transcript:
CNN video of the exchange makes it clear this was the portion of the interview used in the altered clip to make it seem as if Harris dismissed Bash’s question about the economy.
USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post but did not immediately receive a response.
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.
USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.