• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
Virginia Dem Candidate for Governor Slapped With 4 ‘Pinocchios’ Over COVID Claims

Virginia Dem Candidate for Governor Slapped With 4 ‘Pinocchios’ Over COVID Claims

October 26, 2021
Kamala Harris Back On Fundraising Circuit After Failed 2024 Campaign Blew Through $1 Billion In 100 Days

Kamala Harris Back On Fundraising Circuit After Failed 2024 Campaign Blew Through $1 Billion In 100 Days

May 20, 2025
Trump Admin Pulls Back From COVID Boosters For All Americans, Demands More Evidence

Trump Admin Pulls Back From COVID Boosters For All Americans, Demands More Evidence

May 20, 2025
‘Don’t F*ck Around With Medicaid’: Trump Moves To Quash GOP Schisms Over ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’

‘Don’t F*ck Around With Medicaid’: Trump Moves To Quash GOP Schisms Over ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’

May 20, 2025
RFK Jr. Has Had Enough Of Dem Senator — And He Lets Her Know It

RFK Jr. Has Had Enough Of Dem Senator — And He Lets Her Know It

May 20, 2025
Elon Musk Says He is Going to Do ‘A Lot Less’ Political Spending

Elon Musk Says He is Going to Do ‘A Lot Less’ Political Spending

May 20, 2025
House Dems Blast Trump’s DOJ For Charging Rep. LaMonica McIver With Assault

House Dems Blast Trump’s DOJ For Charging Rep. LaMonica McIver With Assault

May 20, 2025
Jesse Watters: Biden’s Doctor Should Be Subpoenaed

Jesse Watters: Biden’s Doctor Should Be Subpoenaed

May 20, 2025
Andy McCarthy Says One Particular Biden Immigration Program Was ‘Illegal’

Andy McCarthy Says One Particular Biden Immigration Program Was ‘Illegal’

May 20, 2025
Jill Biden’s Former Press Secretary Says She is ‘Allergic to Transparency’

Jill Biden’s Former Press Secretary Says She is ‘Allergic to Transparency’

May 20, 2025
Comey’s ‘8647’ Post Opened Floodgates For ‘Copycat’ Threats Against Public Figures, FBI Says

Comey’s ‘8647’ Post Opened Floodgates For ‘Copycat’ Threats Against Public Figures, FBI Says

May 20, 2025
Majority Of Voters Prefer ‘Someone Else’ For New York Governor Over Kathy Hochul, Poll Shows

Majority Of Voters Prefer ‘Someone Else’ For New York Governor Over Kathy Hochul, Poll Shows

May 20, 2025
Kristi Noem Pours Cold Water On Reporting That She Backed Reality Show For Immigrants

Kristi Noem Pours Cold Water On Reporting That She Backed Reality Show For Immigrants

May 20, 2025
  • Donald Trump
  • State of the Union
  • Elon Musk
  • Tariffs
  • Congress
  • Faith
  • Immigration
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
  • Login
IJR
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls
No Result
View All Result
IJR
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Virginia Dem Candidate for Governor Slapped With 4 ‘Pinocchios’ Over COVID Claims

by Bradley Cortright
October 26, 2021 at 1:34 pm
in News
245 7
0
Virginia Dem Candidate for Governor Slapped With 4 ‘Pinocchios’ Over COVID Claims

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA - OCTOBER 25: Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe answers questions from reporters after speaking during a campaign event where he received the endorsement of the Virginia Beach African American Political Action Council at The Happy Cafe on October 25, 2021 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Virginia gubernatorial election, pitting McAuliffe against Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin, is November 2. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe is receiving “four Pinocchios” for his claim about the number of children who are in ICU beds after contracting COVID-19.

In recent weeks, the former governor has repeatedly claimed that 1,142 children are in ICU beds because they contracted the virus

During an Oct. 24 campaign event with former President Barack Obama, McAulliffe claimed, “Here in Virginia, you should understand, 1,142 of our children have been in hospitals because they got covid.”

The Washington Post’s fact-checker Glenn Kessler noted that McAuliffe has made the handling of the pandemic one of the main focuses of his campaign. However, he “frequently touts numbers — often wrong numbers about the impact on children.”

“When we first queried the McAuliffe campaign about his figures, we were told it was a slip of the tongue. Okay, we understand that, and so we passed on a fact check. But then his tongue kept slipping,” Kessler added.

He went on to note that the fact-check team “became interested in this issue when McAuliffe in the second and final debate on Sept. 28 said that there were 8,000 coronavirus cases ‘yesterday in Virginia.’”

“But when we checked the records, you had to go back to January to find a single day when a combination of confirmed and probable cases in Virginia got close to 8,000. On Sept. 27, there were fewer than 2,000 confirmed cases,” he explained.

Kessler went on to explain that debate was on a Tuesday, and McAuliffe’s campaign said he was referencing weekend numbers that were released on that Monday. The fact-checker noted, “The new caseload between Friday morning and Monday morning was 7,987 on Sept. 27 and 7,762 on Oct. 4.”

He admitted that citing weekend numbers “in this fashion” could “leave the misleading impression he was talking about a one-day number. But we got busy with other stuff and chose not to do a fact check.”

“And what about McAuliffe’s Oct. 7 comment that 1,142 children were in ICU beds? That number seemed totally off-kilter,” Kessler wrote. “The McAuliffe campaign said that he simply misspoke. Okay, we moved on.”

He continued:

“This phrasing suggests that McAuliffe is talking about not a daily figure, as he frequently indicated — but a total since the beginning of the pandemic. That certainly would be closer to reality […] Why has McAuliffe repeatedly used a higher number than that? Good question. A spokesman for his campaign did not respond to emails and text messages over a period of four days.”

While Kessler said the “occasional misspeak” is understandable “especially in the heat of a campaign,” it has “happened too many times for McAuliffe’s language to be an accident.”

“He repeatedly mentions a weekend number for cases, but suggests it’s a one-day figure. He offers wildly inflated figures for child hospitalizations, suggesting again that these were daily figures and claiming twice that these many children were in ICUs. Instead, he appears to be citing a figure for all of the children hospitalized with covid-19 in Virginia over the past 19 months — which is still inflated,” he added.

Finally, Kessler wrote, “The pandemic will continue to be a serious policy challenge for the next Virginia governor, but there’s no reason for McAuliffe to hype the numbers. He earns Four Pinocchios.”

Tags: politicsTerry McAuliffe
Share196Tweet123
Bradley Cortright

Bradley Cortright

IJR, Senior Writer He's written for Independent Journal Review since 2019.

Advertisements

Top Stories June 10th
Top Stories June 7th
Top Stories June 6th
Top Stories June 3rd
Top Stories May 30th
Top Stories May 29th
Top Stories May 24th
Top Stories May 23rd
Top Stories May 21st
Top Stories May 17th

Join Over 6M Subscribers

We’re organizing an online community to elevate trusted voices on all sides so that you can be fully informed.





IJR

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Trusted Voices On All Sides

  • About Us
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy
  • Subscribe to IJR

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Top Stories June 10th Top Stories June 7th Top Stories June 6th Top Stories June 3rd Top Stories May 30th Top Stories May 29th Top Stories May 24th Top Stories May 23rd Top Stories May 21st Top Stories May 17th