FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
CONTACT: Liz Doherty
“Dan Forest has been doing his best President Trump impression for months but still trails both his idol and—more importantly—his opponent”
“It’s clear that Forest is trying hard to be the Trump of North Carolina… All that effort doesn’t appear to be making his chances of becoming governor any better.”
In Case You Missed It — The Daily Beast painted a scathing but accurate picture of Lt. Governor Dan Forest’s candidacy for North Carolina governor. Forest, as the story notes, has proven himself a divisive candidate committed to spreading dangerous misinformation about the pandemic. He’s also taken an extreme stance on reopening and suggested on multiple occasions, largely at in-person and maskless campaign events, that Vice President Biden “is not gonna make it.”
KEY POINTS:
Forest chose to ignore science and data, claiming that “masks don’t work with viruses.”
- “He further stoked controversy and dismay over the summer as he wrongly cast doubt on the science behind wearing masks during the pandemic even as public health officials and the Trump administration have emphasized a clear benefit of doing so to help stem the spread of the deadly virus.”
- “In July, he was quoted in The Hendersonville Times-News saying ‘there have been multiple comprehensive studies at the deepest level held to scientific standards in controlled environments that have all said for decades, masks do not work with viruses.’”
While other Republicans have been hesitant, Forest’s stance on reopening has been extreme.
- “In April, Forest eagerly supported Trump’s ambition for an Easter reopening of the economy from the pandemic, even as other Republicans balked at the fast-moving push that the president eventually abandoned himself.”
- “By late June, Forest was proudly championing an effort to take Cooper to court over his public health executive orders. The lieutenant governor abandoned that charge last month after a court ruled against him.”
Forest has said at least twice that Vice President Biden “is not gonna make it.”
- “‘We all know that Sleepy Joe’s not gonna make it. Not very long anyway. That’s sad to say,’ Forest said as he tried to paint a dire picture to the GOP crowd in Winston-Salem.
- “But before he could even start rattling off all the things he’d do as governor to people who weren’t there to hear him speak, the state’s Republican lieutenant governor chose to indulge once again in a baseless, strange, and shocking idea about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s future.”
In addition to his false claim that “masks don’t work,” Forest has held many indoor campaign events with no social distancing or mask wearing. In the midst of the pandemic, Forest announced he will “shake as many hands as possible” and continue to hold in-person events.
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