FACT CHECK: No, Trey Gowdy Did Not Make This Statement Claiming ‘20% Of The Population’ Is Trying To Indoctrinate The Rest
An image shared on Facebook claims former Republican South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy said “20% of the population” is trying to indoctrinate the rest of the population into believing that 2,000 years of “history, structure, cultural norms, and philosophy is suddenly wrong.”
Verdict: False
Gowdy has denied making such a comment. The quote originated with a tweet from Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert in December 2021.
Fact Check:
The image features a photo of Gowdy, who served in Congress from 2011 to 2019, with text across the top that reads “Trey Gowdy tells it like it is.” Below the image of the former congressman is an alleged quote of his that reads, “20% of the population is trying to indoctrinate the other 80% to believe that 2000 years of history, structure, cultural norms, and philosophy is suddenly wrong because they took a liberal arts course in college once and their neo-Marxist professor told them so.” Many other posts have attributed the same remark to him.
However, the congressional record does not show Gowdy ever saying the quote during his years in office. It likewise does not appear in any of Gowdy’s social media posts or on his personal website.
The former congressman also denied ever making such a statement. He told Check Your Fact via email that he never said the quote “or anything remotely akin thereto.” (RELATED: Did Trey Gowdy Write This Coronavirus Conspiracy Theory?)
An internet search revealed the quote first appeared in a Dec. 5, 2021, tweet from Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert’s personal Twitter account.
20% of the population is trying to indoctrinate the other 80% to believe that 2000 years of history, structure, cultural norms, and philosophy is suddenly wrong because they took a liberal arts course in college once and their neo-Marxist professor told them so.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) December 5, 2021
Gowdy has previously been the subject of misattributed or fabricated quotes. Check Your Fact recently debunked a rumor from January 2022 that claimed he said “treasonous” actions were taken to rig the 2020 presidential election.
