Time Magazine has retracted a statement that mischaracterized a claim made by former President Donald Trump during the debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
The initial statement accused Trump of fabricating an assertion about Harris supporting taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries for illegal immigrants in prison. This has now been corrected by the publication.
The correction came after public backlash, as many pointed out that Trump’s claim had merit based on Harris’s previous positions on gender transition treatments.
The mischaracterization appeared in a story titled “How Kamala Harris Knocked Donald Trump Off Course,” which detailed the candidates’ debate exchange.
During the debate, Trump claimed that Harris “wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens in prison,” sparking immediate reactions from the media and the public.
While many dismissed it as false or exaggerated, others defended the statement by citing Harris’s past stances on related issues.
During her 2019 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Harris completed a questionnaire in which she expressed backing for taxpayer-funded gender transition treatments for detained immigrants. This questionnaire has recently reemerged, confirming Trump’s debate remark.
This is one of the greatest corrections in history, from @TIME magazine:https://t.co/LV2won82DI pic.twitter.com/bl8mUKXgHC
— Tim Murtaugh (@TimMurtaugh) September 11, 2024
In a report by CNN’s KFile on Monday, it was revealed that in a 2019 questionnaire for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Harris expressed progressive views on several important issues.
During her 2020 presidential campaign, she indicated support for reducing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, cutting ICE funding, and ending immigration detention, including private prisons.
Additionally, she advocated for providing gender transition surgeries to detained immigrants and federal prisoners, demonstrating a significant stance on transgender rights.
The ACLU questionnaire resurfaced in 2020 after Harris became the presumptive Democratic vice-presidential nominee, although other candidates’ responses were not given similar attention.
Despite changes in political discourse, Harris has asserted that her fundamental values remain unchanged. However, her campaign did not clarify whether she still supports these positions.
The questionnaire also highlighted Harris’ past record as California’s attorney general, where she both defended and later sought to change policies related to gender transition surgeries for inmates.
At first, Time magazine characterized Trump’s statement as baseless and untrue, in line with the quick rejection by numerous media sources.
Nonetheless, after fact-checkers and commentators highlighted discrepancies in the 2019 questionnaire, the magazine had to reassess its stance.
On Wednesday, Time published a correction at the end of the article. Nevertheless, Trump and his campaign had already received substantial criticism for what many perceived as an unsubstantiated assault on Harris.
The original version of this story mischaracterized as false Donald Trump’s statement accusing Kamala Harris of supporting ‘transgender operations on illegal aliens in prison.’ As a presidential candidate in 2019, Harris filled out a questionnaire saying she supported taxpayer-funded gender transition treatment for detained immigrants.
The Trump campaign has been focused on constructing Harris as a progressive advocate, unafraid to support polarizing policies such as providing gender transition treatments for detained immigrants, in order to portray her as disconnected from mainstream American values.
