Fox Business host claims Democrats are using COVID to win elections

Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo claimed on Tuesday that Democrats were using COVID-19 as part of a plot to win the 2022 midterm elections.

Bartiromo made the allegation on an episode of her show, “Mornings with Maria,” during an interview with Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan (R).

“What are the odds we’re going to be in lockdown and living in fear summer 2022, August, September, October, going into a very important month of November for you and your colleagues for the midterm elections?” asked Bartiromo. “Do you think this is all a plan — make sure everybody’s walking around in fear going into the midterms so we ensure mail-in ballots are coming your way for the congressional races?”

Jordan did not push back on the suggestion.

“Who knows?” he said. “I certainly hope not, it seems to be that Democrats want to talk about this and create this fear out there.”

He then claimed Democrats were “focused on just creating fear I think across the country.”

There is no proof to support the allegation that Democrats are using the virus to win elections.

The resurgence of COVID-19 is a very real phenomenon. The coronavirus delta variant has wreaked havoc among unvaccinated Americans in particular, prompting health officials and experts to urge people to get their shots if they’ve not been inoculated.

COVID-related deaths, meanwhile, continue to rise, and hospitalizations have spiked dramatically in recent weeks, especially across southern states and in places where mask and vaccine mandates have been outlawed.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 97% of COVID-hospitalizations are unvaccinated people. Public health officials have also said that the vast majority, likely around 99%, of COVID-related deaths currently are unvaccinated individuals.

Fox News and Fox Business have frequently promoted falsehoods and misinformation about the virus since it first emerged in the United States.

During Tuesday’s interview, Bartiromo also appeared to push several unfounded myths about migrants spreading COVID-19 to Americans.

“We’ve got unofficial numbers from July, and it’s 210,000 apprehensions. Do the math, that’s 6,000 people a day showing up in Texas getting apprehended, then becoming legal for a time until they go in front of a judge,” Bartiromo said, seemingly suggesting immigrants and asylum seekers were to blame for the recent spikes in COVID-19.

An apprehension, however, does not mean that someone is brought into the United States, but that they were intercepted at the border. In many cases, those who’ve been apprehended are turned away under a program known as Title 42, which allows officials to expel people under the guise of public safety related to the pandemic.

Additionally, despite Bartiromo’s claims, those legally seeking asylum who cross the border and test positive for COVID-19 are not released into the country. Instead, they are moved to quarantine facilities, per CDC guidelines, before moving forward with their immigration process once they’re cleared.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.