Donald Trump declared that Kamala Harris received questions prior to this week’s debate in a bonkers claim he spewed at his campaign rally in Las Vegas on Friday.
“Did she get the questions? Ya think? So I hear she got the questions and I also heard she got something in the ear, a little something in the ear. ‘No, Kamala, do this. Say it this way, Kamala. OK, be quiet, too many people watching,’” said Trump as he imagined someone talking to Harris through an earpiece.
The former president’s remarks come just days after he laid the groundwork for the baseless rally claim in an appearance on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday.
He claimed Harris was “awfully familiar” with the questions from ABC News, which told The Daily Beast it “absolutely” didn’t send questions to Harris in advance and campaign aides weren’t in touch with the moderators beforehand.
HuffPost reached out to the Trump campaign, which was not immediately available for comment on the claim.
The earpiece conspiracy theory was also pushed by conservative commentator and 9/11 truther Laura Loomer, who recently sparked backlash for appearing with Trump at a 23rd anniversary ceremony on the 2001 terror attacks.
“Interesting choice of earrings tonight, @KamalaHarris…,” wrote Loomer on Wednesday alongside a picture of Harris at the debate and a screenshot of a story on “audio earrings.”
A number of fact-checking sites have since debunked the claim and noted that Harris was wearing Tiffany and Co. earrings.
Conspiracy theories tied to Democratic candidates using an “earpiece” or wire at a debate aren’t new, either, with false claims previously taking shape for then-nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016 and for then-nominee Joe Biden in 2020.