West Texas Congressman and former White House physician Ronny Jackson (R) claims the Democratic party is stirring up fear over the new COVID-19 omicron variant for political motivations.
Jackson, 54, was the White House physician from 2013 to 2018, serving President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020 for Texas House District 13, which covers the Texas panhandle, including Amarillo.
Jackson’s accusations started last Saturday when he tweeted, “Here comes the MEV – the Midterm Election Variant! They NEED a reason to push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots. Democrats will do anything to CHEAT during an election – but we’re not going to let them!”
The tweet was liked by over 10,000 users and retweeted over 3,000 times. Texas Senator Ted Cruz was one of the users who cosigned it, responding to Jackson’s tweet with the caption, “Accurate diagnosis.”
Jackson doubled down on his assertion with multiple appearances on Fox News this week.
“Weird that ‘Mr. Science’ Dr. Fauci & Democrats have been SILENT about COVID flooding across our border. Don’t they want to “stop the spread” like they claim?” Jackson captioned a video he tweeted of his Monday Fox News appearance. “There’s no science behind this, just more excuses to expand lockdowns, mandates, and mail-in ballots. It’s about CONTROL!”
On Wednesday, Jackson returned to Fox News and tweeted a video of his appearance with a caption promoting his theory. “Democrat poll numbers are cratering, so the White House is stoking up unscientific fears about emerging variants to justify their unpopular policies,” Jackson wrote. “This is a calculated political decision. WHERE is the science that’s dictating their heavy-handed response to the omicron variant?”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked by reporters about Jackson’s claims while aboard Air Force One on Tuesday. “I think that the best thing we can do is not respond to conspiracy theories that are … being pushed out there, including by medical doctors, that risk people’s lives, create confusion, and are done for political gain,” Psaki said.
Jackson has not let up. He continued peddling his theory on Thursday, tweeting, “NOBODY is surprised that Democrats are using the news about new variants to push lockdowns & other restrictions. What other unscientific ‘emergency rules’ will they implement? Their decisions are political – not science related!”
The omicron variant was classified as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO) on November 26th. In a statement announcing the classification, the WHO stated, “this variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning.”
The statement mentions preliminary evidence that suggests the variant carries an increased risk of reinfection and is detected at faster rates than previous surges in infection, “suggesting that this variant may have a growth advantage.”
The variant was first detected in South Africa but has now popped up in the U.S. states of California, Colorado, Minnesota, and Texas.
