Kamala Harris once said: “Today, we celebrate the Fourth of July. And the reason we celebrate the Fourth of July is because this is July, and the Fourth of July is in July. And if it wasn’t July we couldn’t be celebrating it, because you all know how much we love the Fourth of July.”
In July 2024, social media users claimed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris had offered a lengthy, rambling explanation for why the Fourth of July is celebrated every year on that very date. A quote purportedly originating from Harris was republished in memes and posts, reading:
Today, we celebrate the Fourth of July. And the reason we celebrate the Fourth of July is because this is July, and the Fourth of July is in July. And if it wasn’t July we couldn’t be celebrating it, because you all know how much we love the Fourth of July.
A reverse-image search produced numerous examples of the quote either as memes or text on Facebook, iFunny, Instagram, Threads and TikTok, as well as numerous posts on X. They were all posted in July 2024, both before and after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 election and endorsed Harris as his preference for the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
In our research, we uncovered no video, audio or other type of documentary evidence suggesting Harris ever spoke or wrote the words in the Fourth of July quote. For example, she made no such comments in her remarks during an Independence Day celebration at the White House in 2024.
It’s unclear who created the original quote or the memes. However, our search for answers revealed two creators who possibly inspired the content of the quote.
Firstly, on July 4, 2024, comedian Ami Kozak posted a video of himself impersonating Harris. Kozak’s TikTok bio said he does “impressions, comedy and music.” He also posted the same video on his X, Instagram and YouTube accounts.
In his video, he began his Harris impression by poking fun at the vice president’s laugh and saying: “Now today is the Fourth of July. OK. And what that means is for Americans and for America, it is not the 3rd. It is not the 2nd. It is not the 5th, but it is the Fourth. And that’s four days into a month, which is not just like any other month. It is not June. It is not April. It is not August. It is July.”
Another creator, Stephanie Jolene, also posted a Harris impression on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube on July 4, 2024. Her TikTok bio described her personality as “The Konservative Kamala” and mentioned parodies and singing.
In one part of Jolene’s video, she said the following, while also impersonating Harris’ laugh: “The Fourth of July. It’s the only holiday, okay, that has a number in it. Hear me out. Christmas. Halloween. Easter. Mother’s Day. Father’s Day. I could go on and on. I could. Yeah. But it’s the only holiday with the 4. With the number. And that is very special. Happy Fourth of July, America.”
It’s possible either Kozak’s or Jolene’s videos inspired a different user to create the fake quote misattributed to Harris. However, at this stage, all we know for sure is there is no evidence Harris ever produced the words in the quote. Had the vice president ever made such a speech, conservative blogs and social media accounts likely would have reported on it, due to its rambling nature, and published either video or audio evidence. We will update this story if we learn more details.
For further reading, we previously reported on another quote misattributed to Harris, beginning with the words: “The problem of solving a problem is not a problem.”