Democrat Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer put out a tweet on Friday that allegedly showed Vice President Mike Pence delivering empty boxes of PPE for a public relations stunt.
“Here’s a though, use the DPA and fill those boxes so our frontline workers don’t have to use the same mask for two weeks,” Finkenauer commented. “This is American and this administration continues to let our heroes down with empty boxes and empty promises. USE DPA TO CREATE PPE. YESTERDAY. #ia01”
There was just one problem with Finkenauer’s tweet — it wasn’t true.
The edited video shared failed to accurately represent what happened. And even mainstream media is acknowledging the unverified claim is false.
What actually happened, according to reports, is Pence helped deliver PPE to the Woodbine Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Alexandria, VA on Thursday.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” aired a selectively edited clip of Pence joking about carrying empty boxes “for the camera.” The full clip was obtained by The Associated Press and confirms Pence did not actually deliver empty boxes.
The full C-SPAN video shows Pence delivering boxes of equipment and returning to a van containing more boxes. A person supervising says, “those are empty, sire. We’re good to go.”
Pence responded, “can I carry the empty ones, just for the camera?”
The person responds, “absolutely.”
Pence laughs, shuts the van doors and does not take any of the empty boxes.
Finkenauer realized her error and deleted the tweet after a few hours.
However, she has not issued an apology.
Finkenauer’s use of the word “heroes” is an interesting one. In 2017, during debate on the Iowa House floor, Finkenauer called Rep. Steve Holt a “coward.”
Holt served 20 years in the U.S. Marines. He also served in law enforcement.
