President Donald Trump reposted a tweet from Chuck Woolerysaying “everyone is lying” about the coronavirus pandemic.
On Sunday night, Woolery — former Wheel of Fortune and Love Connection host and self-described “Hollywood conservative” — condemned the “lies” he believes are being spread about COVID-19, claiming some of the information out there from officials is not only false, but politically motivated.
“The most outrageous lies are the ones about Covid 19,” Woolery wrote. “Everyone is lying. The CDC, Media, Democrats, our Doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust,” he added, leaving out the GOP.
“I think it’s all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election,” he added. “I’m sick of it.”
That post and another from Woolery about the reopening of schools — which the former game show host says should happen in the fall — both received retweets from POTUS.
“There is so much evidence, yes scientific evidence, that schools should open this fall,” he wrote. “It’s worldwide and it’s overwhelming. BUT NO.”
When someone on Twitter said Woolery was “someone who would justify/support literally anything this president would say or do,” he hit back — saying, “I think you are someone who judges others actions with zero facts and information. Prove me wrong.”
Woolery continued to share his thoughts on the coronavirus on Monday morning, saying he doesn’t trust health experts — including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has served under six presidents and has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984.
“Well I guess I really stirred the pot yesterday. Why?” Woolery wrote. “I don’t believe Fauci, the CDC and most of the so called experts on Covid 19 including the Media. What do you think?”
While he admitted “COVID-19 is real and it is here” and revealed his son tested positive for the virus, he then went on to note that “we need facts” instead of trusting “dangerous” conspiracy theories.
“The media, politicians, and Media have significant impact on our economy, elections, and our way of life,” Woolery said. “And I believe reporting theories as fact is very dangerous thing to do. We need facts.”
The host’s tweets were brought up during Monday’s White House press briefing when a reporter asked Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany if Trump believes the CDC is “lying” about the coronavirus due to him reposting Woolery’s tweet.
According to McEnany, Trump’s retweet was about his “displeasure” of “leaks” he thinks are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The president, with his intent in that retweet, expresses displeasure with the CDC, some rogue individuals leaking guidelines prematurely,” she said. “You had a 63-page plan that was leaked prematurely. He believes that that misleads the American public when there are planning materials released that are not in their fullest form and their best form. So that’s what he was getting at.”
This all comes as dozens of states in the US continue to see a rise in coronavirus cases. As of July 13, the coronavirus has infected over 3.3 million Americans, killing more than 135,000.