Sen Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is under fire for a Fourth of July tweet that managed to include both a false claim and a false quote.
Hawley tweeted a quote he claimed to be from Founding Father Patrick Henry saying the United States was founded “on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Just one problem: Henry ― a slave owner perhaps best remembered for his “give me liberty or give me death” quote ― never said it.
Hawley tweeted:
The United States was not founded as a Christian nation ― the First Amendment makes that clear ― and Henry, while deeply religious, didn’t say anything of the sort.
Nor did any of the other Founding Fathers.
The quote is actually from a 1956 magazine article that discussed Henry’s faith.
Hawley, a self-appointed expert in manliness who saluted the Jan. 6 mob with a fist pump only to flee those same rioters hours later, was called out on Twitter:
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