Tag: Jason Lewis

Jason Lewis Continues Spreading COVID Misinformation — This Time About Masks (Really)

Lewis Falsely Claims that Experts are “All Over the Place” on Efficacy of Masks

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis continues to fuel misinformation and question medical experts’ advice amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday, Lewis called Minnesota’s new mask mandate “ill-advised.”

Lewis expressed his opposition toward masks in this video posted online, saying:

“As recently as May of this year, the New England Journal of Medicine questioned their [masks] efficacy outside of a health care setting. And of course, the authorities, the experts, have been all over the place. First you didn’t need them. Now you do. Now there seems to be this growing demand.”

The authors of the New England Journal of Medicine that Lewis references have already responded to false claims like these, saying that they support universal mask wearing:

“We understand that some people are citing our Perspective article (published on April 1 at NEJM.org) as support for discrediting widespread masking. In truth, the intent of our article was to push for more masking, not less.”

Lewis’ disregard and disdain for public health experts’ advice to help combat COVID-19 constitutes a serious threat and danger to Minnesotans’ well-being. As the state continues to see  a rise in cases and the first infant death caused by COVID-19, it is clear that the virus is still a very real threat to Minnesotans and Americans. Lewis puts his rigid views before what is best for Minnesota, even in the midst of a global pandemic.

Since the onset of the pandemic, which has claimed over 140,000 American lives, Lewis has peddled various conspiracy theories, spread misinformation — most recently falsely claiming that young children cannot transmit the virus.

DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin’s Statement on Inappropriate Invitation for MNGOP Fundraiser

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement condemning the use of racially-charged imagery in an invitation to a campaign event for U.S. Senate Candidate Jason Lewis and Congressional Candidate Tyler Kistner (event invitation pictured below and attached):

“As Minnesota continues to grapple with the aftermath of George Floyd’s death and confront the system racism that plagues our society, many Minnesotans are taking extra caution to listen and learn – to come to grips with the longstanding legacies of inequality in this country. Unfortunately, not all members of our community appear to grasp the seriousness of this chapter in our state’s history.

“Earlier this week, in an invitation for an event referred to as ‘The Unlocked Dinner,’ the Minnesota Republican Party misappropriated racial imagery to equate their own experiences with the struggle of African Americans fighting for freedom, while making light of COVID-19 and public health restrictions designed to protect the health and wellbeing of Minnesotans. Continue reading “DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin’s Statement on Inappropriate Invitation for MNGOP Fundraiser”

ICYMI – MinnPost: “Jason Lewis Laughs” About Previous Comments on Trayon Martin

In Case You Missed It:

MinnPost: D.C. Memo: Focus on the Fifth District

By Gabe Schneider. 7/10/20

I reported last week that Jason Lewis, the endorsed Republican for Senate in MN, previously said Trayvon Martin was “a thug,” “a kid in trouble,” “not a saint,” “not a role model,” and “guilty.”
On Monday, Lewis was asked by a radio host what he thought about the discrepancy between his words about George Floyd, whose death he called tragic, and his words about Trayon Martin. He laughed.

Host: “You called the death of George Floyd tragic, because it was, but you said different things after another person died a long time ago, so how do you rectify that, Jason?”

Jason Lewis: “I don’t know, it’s kind of amazing.”

You can listen to the clip here at about the 42 minute mark.

Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Jason Lewis Echoes Scott Jensen’s Misinformation About Coronavirus that Has Jensen Under Investigation

As Minnesota State Senator Dr. Scott Jensen is being investigated by the state medical board for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 by comparing it to the common flu and spreading a conspiracy theory that states are artificially inflating their coronavirus death tolls, here’s a good reminder that Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis has echoed this reckless rhetoric:

  • Steven Bannon scolded Jason Lewis for falsely claiming that hospitals were classifying non-COVID-19 deaths as such: “Are you gonna be one of these guys that argues the death count? Yes or No?” Bannon bluntly told Lewis, “I guarantee the way you’re gonna lose in Minnesota in the fall is argue the death count. Just a word to the wise.”
  • Jason Lewis repeatedly downplayed the coronavirus and compared it to the common cold and flu, even calling it a “wintertime sickness.”
  • Lewis visited Jensen’s clinic to double down on the conspiracy theory that the government would make people get “vaccines with tattoos to make certain you’ve got one.”

Jason Lewis and Scott Jensen’s fueling conspiracy theories and misinformation is harmful to Minnesotans, and shows their blatant disregard for Minnesotans’ safety during a global pandemic that has killed over a hundred thousand Americans.

Jason Lewis has called the death of George Floyd ‘tragic.’ He had very different words after the death of Trayvon Martin

Jason Lewis, the endorsed Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, said in previously unreported comments that Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old Black high school student shot and killed by George Zimmerman in 2012, was a “thug” and “not a good kid.”

In 2013, Zimmerman was acquitted at trial after claiming he killed Martin in self-defense.

According to audio reviewed by MinnPost, Lewis said on his radio show in 2013: “Trayvon Martin was a thug. Trayvon Martin was a kid in trouble already. He was not a saint. He was not a role model. Let me clear about this: He was not a good kid.” Continue reading.

Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Jason Lewis Calls American Intelligence Reports “Another Russian Hoax”

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Yesterday, Republican U.S. Senate candidate for Minnesota Jason Lewis once again attacked the media in defense of the President by quickly denouncing the New York Times report of Russia’s involvement in bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. troops and dismissed the information from the intelligence community.

On an episode on the “Justice & Drew” radio show, Lewis called this report–concluded by American intelligence officials– “another Russian hoax.

Lewis: [34:45] “…They’ve got to concoct another Russian hoax. His numbers are so bad, they’ve got to make certain that we have a second lockdown and that we mention every other country on the globe except the country that gave us the virus, China…But we’ve been able to focus now on that [coronavirus] and this new Russian hoax, perpetrated by the same people — the New York Times and company.” Continue reading “Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Jason Lewis Calls American Intelligence Reports “Another Russian Hoax””

Jason Lewis Refused to Denounce George Floyd Crisis Actor Conspiracy Theory

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA- Yesterday, in a bizarre press conference, Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis refused to unequivocally denounce a conspiracy theory that there were crisis actors involved in the video of George Floyd’s murder.

The conspiracy theory has been debunked by FactCheck.org – “Bogus Claims of ‘Crisis Actors’ in Death of George Floyd”

Watch the video (beginning at 5:55) and read the full exchange below where Lewis leaves open the possibility he believes the offensive conspiracy theory:

QUESTIONER: This is kind of a statement, and y’know I don’t want to get into the conspiratorial things, but I have a friend who has been with the local acting community for years. There’s just a lot of very suspicious stuff wrong with this. He stated specifically that his friends in the acting community recognized a lot of people from the George Floyd video that might need to be looked into. The paramedics, he said, were both local actors. Continue reading “Jason Lewis Refused to Denounce George Floyd Crisis Actor Conspiracy Theory”

DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin’s Statement on Jason Lewis’ History of Sowing Divisiveness and Racist Comments

Lewis set to denounce police reform in front of Minneapolis Third Precinct Police Headquarters

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement on Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis’ history of spreading divisiveness and partisanship, including past comments disparaging communities of color.

This comes as Lewis is set to hold a press conference this afternoon denouncing the need for police reform and denying the systemic racism that is embedded in our country.

Lewis has repeatedly circulated a false claim commonly pushed by white supremacists that white people are disproportionately killed by Black people, and he used his past conservative talk show to declare that “White Lives Matter.”

“Once again, Jason Lewis proves he’s not interested in finding solutions to problems we face, but rather exploits them for his own partisan gain,” said DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin “He denies any wrongdoing in our systems, and ignores Minnesotans’ demands for reform. Lewis has repeatedly demeaned communities of color, and his ignorant views of the Black community prove he is unfit to serve all Minnesotans in the U.S. Senate.”

The DFL has previously highlighted Lewis’ racist comments such as claiming that the problem in the Black community is the “gangsta culture,” saying that Black people on welfare “traded one plantation for another,” and comparing progressive income tax brackets to slavery.

Minnesota GOP Officials Silent on Contributions from Men Indicted for Conspiring to Funnel Foreign Money into U.S. Elections

Lewis, Stauber, Hagedorn, and Carnahan refuse to condemn foreign meddling in Minnesota elections

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Late last week, two associates of Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, were arrested as they attempted to flee the United States. The two were charged with allegedly conspiring to funnel foreign money to Republican politicians and candidates for the purpose of buying influence in U.S. – Ukraine relations.

As the Pioneer Press reported, multiple Minnesota Republicans received money from Parnas and Fruman, including Jason Lewis, the Minnesota Republican Party, and the National Republican Congressional Committee, run by Tom Emmer.

While the NRCC and Republican officials in other states have returned the money they got from Parnas and Fruman, including Brian Mast, Kevin McCarthy, Joe Wilson, Brian Fitzpatrick, Lloyd Smucker, and John Katko, Jason Lewis and MN GOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan have thus far refused to return or donate the contributions. Continue reading “Minnesota GOP Officials Silent on Contributions from Men Indicted for Conspiring to Funnel Foreign Money into U.S. Elections”

Minnesota state senator: Jason Lewis is going to ‘chop [Tina Smith] into little pieces’

Jason Lewis’ 2018 reelection campaign was colored, and likely doomed, by the resurfacing of offensive things he’d said on the radio.

Lewis, then representing Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, tried explaining his rants by saying his radio role was to be provocative and entertaining. If your idea of entertainment is a man angrily complaining he can’t call Madonna a slut, you should 1) try literally anything else, and 2) stop trying to reconcile with your ex-wife.

Lewis lost his seat to Democrat Angie Craig, and could’ve slunk back to a dishonorable life in conservative talk radio and smarmy speaking engagements. Instead, he’s back in a big, dumb way, announcing last week that he’d challenge DFL U.S. Sen. Tina Smith in 2020.

View the complete August 27 article by Mike Mullen on The CityPages website here.