USA Today conducted a fact check on a reporter’s remarks outside of a venue where Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and former Vice President Joe Biden were holding a campaign event. The news outlet also fact checked a social media post that shared Nicole Garcia’s report for Fox News.
“Claim: Biden and Harris had a rally in Arizona and no one came,” USA Today said in its report:
Voters are comparing the two presidential candidates on a number of issues as Election Day nears. A post on social media claims Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden can’t compete on one issue: event turnout.
The event described in the posts wasn’t a rally. According to local Fox 10’s NEWS NOW reporter Nicole Garcia, Biden and vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris were meeting with local tribal leaders at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, which features American Indian art.
Garcia noted that there was not much “fanfare” outside the museum for the two candidates but said that was an intentional move by the Biden campaign. She said she was told by Biden staffers that the campaign chose to withhold details about the visit, like timing and location, from the public so that the visit would not attract a crowd.
“They want to keep the crowds to a minimum,” Garcia said of the campaign. “They realize we are in a pandemic, and they don’t want a crowd of more than 50 people at any of their events.”
USA Today used its report to criticize President Donald Trump while defending Biden.
“As President Donald Trump continues to hold rallies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the assertion that Biden can’t bring in a sizable crowd has been raised numerous times, including by Trump at the first presidential debate,” the outlet reported. “The Biden campaign has said it does not support large gatherings due to the danger of coronavirus spread.”
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