Dutchess Dems Gleefully Announce Molinaro Has COVID (He Doesn't)
Facebook/Ben Geller/Dutchess County Dems
The battle over masks took another ugly turn in Dutchess County on Wednesday when a group of democrats incorrectly announced Molinaro was positive for COVID.
On Wednesday the Facebook group posted an unconfirmed rumor that the county executive had tested positive for COVID-19.
Facebook/Dutchess County Dems
The problem is that Molinaro does not have COVID. Now, we all know that rumors can sometimes gain traction quickly on social media, and while it's probably not the best idea for a political party to jump on unsubstantiated hearsay before it's confirmed, I guess it's understandable that a potentially big story like this could be considered somewhat newsworthy.
But of course, no one would go ahead and claim the rumor was true without having facts to back it up, right?
Soon after sharing the rumor, the Dutchess County Democratic Committee doubled down and posted another announcement saying (incorrectly) that the rumors were true. The tone of the message also seemed to take delight in the fact that Molinaro could have possibly contracted the virus from Rudy Giuliani. The cringe-worthy message goes on to accuse Molinaro of spreading COVID "all over Dutchess government" and refusing to follow proper protocols.
Even worse than being riddled with inaccuracies and relishing the fact that someone was possibly sick, the message ends with a reminder that Molinaro's own father passed away from COVID last year, saying he should be "ashamed" for his position on masking.
Molinaro claims he had to spend most of Wednesday responding to people who heard he was sick and wished him a speedy recovery as well as others who "called to tell me I deserved it." The disgraceful message was quickly deleted after the group discovered that the rumor was not true, but the damage was already done.
Committee Chairwoman Elisa Sumner spoke with the New York Post about the incident, saying that they received "several calls" from people who claimed to have heard the information on the radio." Earlier this week, Westchester County Executive, George Latimer, announced that he was positive for COVID-19, so it's likely that whoever says they heard the information was confused. Either way, this is just another example of political parties using the health of Dutchess County residents as a pawn in some sort of political game.
Whether your political "team" thinks mask-wearing is the tool of the devil or something that should be strictly enforced with heavy fines, virtually every health professional and doctor is strongly recommending mask-wearing in public for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals during the upcoming winter months. Sadly, the juvenile back and forth between both parties has virtually buried this message. Meanwhile, the people of Dutchess County continue to bicker back and forth without any real leader on either side of the aisle actually standing up and making the health of local residents their first priority
BREAKING: Alarming COVID Death Stats Emerging in Dutchess, Orange & Ulster
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