Did former U.S. Rep. and current Fox News contributor Trey Gowdy go on a lengthy rant, complaining that the COVID-19 shutdowns across the United States are overblown and "fishy"? No, that's not true. A tirade attributed to Gowdy was not written or said by him.
The claim appeared as a post (archived here) on Facebook on April 22, 2020. It opened:
"I'm not saying Covid-19 isn't real... But Pay attention folks, there's much more going on here than what meets the eye.
Is it a coincidence that just when the economy is booming, the stock market is setting record highs, we are winning the trade wars, school shootings have stopped, our nation is at peace, the Democratic party is a disaster and so is their likely nominee? (Biden). He hasn't a chance in hell & they're not about to let an outsider(Bernie) destroy their scheme.
This is what the post, with over 400 shares, looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
This diatribe was not from Gowdy, a Republican from South Carolina. The part of the comments that drew attention seemed to be a dismissal over the strict measures taken to prevent a greater death toll in the United States from the novel coronavirus:
"A handful of deaths out of 320 million Americans and we are in panic tearing down our society and costing our economy billions in the wake. It all just seems fishy, a little too well-timed if you ask me."
The post did note at the end it "(Could be) Trey Gowdy."
Gowdy posted a message on his Twitter account to his 1.1 million followers denying the words came from him as the story went viral.
Just want to alert folks there is a fraudulent post attributed to me circulating on social media. Not the first time, likely not the last. We have enough going on in our country right now without propagating misinformation. Stay safe and strong.
-- Trey Gowdy (@TGowdySC) April 22, 2020
Lead Stories reached out to Gowdy's office but did not receive a response from him by the time of publication. This story wll be updated with any response.
