Former Trump Intelligence Director Richard Grenell Under Fire For Misleading Joe Biden Mask Post
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Richard Grenell, the former acting director of national intelligence and ambassador to Germany, came under fire for a misleading Twitter post that showed 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on a plane without a mask.
On Sunday, Grenell tweeted that Biden “doesn’t wear a mask on a plane – but wears one OUTSIDE,” along with a photograph of a mask-less Biden on a plane with his traveling press secretary.
The tweet went viral, receiving nearly 40,000 likes and 17,000 retweets — and a further 37,000 likes and 13,000 retweets in a post by Fox News host Mark Levin. But journalists and social media users pointed out that the photo was taken in November 2019, months before the coronavirus pandemic.
Washington, DC phony!@JoeBiden doesn’t wear a mask on a plane – but wears one OUTSIDE!? pic.twitter.com/7q0LG09bOq
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) November 1, 2020
Biden: mask for you but not for me. https://t.co/e6tj4ZCRgC
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) November 1, 2020
Biden wears a mask outside but not on a plane. Fraud. https://t.co/Ifj44claPP
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) November 2, 2020
AP, CNN, PolitiFact, and Snopes all published fact-checks debunking the post, while Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) sister Erin Gaetz tweeted, “Why hasn’t Grenell deleted this tweet? It’s been debunked (maskless pic was taken pre-pandemic) and it’s embarrassing that a guy who was literally the head of US National Intelligence would keep misinformation up.”
Why hasn’t Grenell deleted this tweet? It’s been debunked (maskless pic was taken pre-pandemic) and it’s embarrassing that a guy who was literally the head of US National Intelligence would keep misinformation up.
We all make mistakes. It’s important to correct them when you do. https://t.co/E1yyb6SxN7
— Erin Gaetz (@ErinGaetz) November 2, 2020
The photo blew up on social media after it was featured in a October 30 Vogue profile on Biden’s traveling national press secretary Remi Yamamoto.
Taken by Biden campaign photographer Adam Schultz, it was captioned, “Yamamoto and Biden huddle on a flight to South Carolina in November 2019.”
This photo that Twitter users are falsely claiming shows Joe Biden on a plane flouting COVID-19 mask guidelines was taken in 2019, as the Vogue magazine caption clearly states.
More from @APFactCheck here: https://t.co/H6k5zLIJtv pic.twitter.com/cCDD30YNcO
— Amanda Seitz (@AmandaSeitz) November 2, 2020
After author Anne Wheaton pointed out to Grenell that the photo was from 2019, he responded with another picture of Biden without a mask during an outdoor rally.
The picture on the left was taken in 2019 when there was no pandemic. Why are you lying to your followers about him?
— Anne Wheaton (@AnneWheaton) November 2, 2020
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) November 2, 2020
