Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said a report from Politico claiming that “multiple people on Capitol Hill” confirmed he tested positive for COVID-19 is false.
Gaetz ripped into a Saturday morning wrap-up from Politico reporters Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer, whom he accused of writing fabricated claims that he had contracted the disease.
“This story is false,” Gaetz tweeted. “I have the antibodies, not the virus. Politico DC is barely journalism.”
A positive test result for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies does not mean a person has the virus but suggests instead that they might have been previously exposed to the disease, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
The news came after White House chief of staff Mark Meadows tested positive for the virus on Friday.
Gaetz appeared visibly healthy during a Fox News appearance Friday evening to lead a vocal defense of Trump’s allegations that fraud was committed during the 2020 election in several key battleground states.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Politico for comment.
