TikTok Appears To Be Deleting Videos With Popular, Doctored Audio That Makes Kamala Harris Out To Be Drunk

Videos that feature a prevalent sound intended to parody a recent clip of Vice President Kamala Harris by making her sound incoherent and possibly intoxicated are getting deleted en masse from TikTok.

Last week, Harris gave a speech at a political event on reproductive rights. During her address, she appeared to stumble through a talking point, resulting in a bizarre soundbite that was grabbed and reposted by social media users and her critics online.

KAMALA HARRIS: "I think it's very important…for us, at every moment in time and certainly this one, to see the moment in time in which we exist and are present." pic.twitter.com/1myWsM4Nz9

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 26, 2023

In context, Harris appears to recover after the awkward turn of phrase. The full quote reads:

"So I think it’s very important — as you have heard from so many incredible leaders — for us, at every moment in time, and certainly this one, to see the moment in time in which we exist and are present, and to be able to contextualize it, to understand where we exist in the history and in the moment as it relates not only to the past, but the future. And I will say to everyone here that we are living, I do believe, in a moment in time where so many of our hard-won freedoms are under attack, and this is a moment for us to stand and fight."

According to the Daily Dot, an edit of the video then began growing popular on TikTok over the last few days.

The edit paired footage of Harris with a different quote, read in a vaguely slurred impression of Harris possibly generated by AI, which goes, "Today is today. And yesterday was today yesterday. Tomorrow will be today tomorrow. So live today, so the future today will be as the past today as it is tomorrow."

The Associated Press and other news organizations have since clarified that the video was doctored.

Today is today. And yesterday was today for us, but yesterday. And tomorrow will become for us today, but tomorrow. So live today in such a way that the future today will be for you like yesterday's today, only tomorrow.
US Vice President Kamala Harris pic.twitter.com/pA3b5UuNi1

— Spriter (@Spriter99880) May 1, 2023

The above viral video still exists on Twitter, but the same can't be said for TikTok. The clip that first hosted the sound has been deleted, as have the array of clips that used the sound afterward.

The Daily Dot describes the meme that developed from the audio thusly, "Posting the audio while pretending to be drunk was a popular undercurrent across the site."

It's unclear if TikTok is behind the deletion of the videos, and if so, for what reason.

TikTok's community guidelines state, "We do not allow showing or promoting recreational drug use, or the trade of alcohol, tobacco products, and drugs." It also states, "We do not allow inaccurate, misleading, or false content that may cause significant harm to individuals or society, regardless of intent."

It's possible the videos may have been deleted due to the fact they featured people acting drunk or because the original clip was misleading by putting an inaccurate quote over footage of Kamala Harris.