Did Rand Paul Applaud Officer Eugene Goodman in a Senate Ceremony?

Claims that he was the only senator not to rely on edited video.

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A viral Facebook post from popular left-wing account The Other 98% claims that Sen. Rand Paul “was the only one not to applaud Officer Eugene Goodman.”

Other posts have made similar claims about Paul refusing to clap when Goodman was recognized by the Senate on Friday for his role in defending the Senate during the January 6 storming of the Capitol, with some even including video purportedly showing Paul standing silently as those around him gave Goodman a standing ovation. 

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  1. Avatar photo
    Mike from Jersey

    Hard starboard! Now that this fact has been disproven we need to save face and cleverly replace it with the fact that he was not wearing a mask (CNN is). And if that ends up being not true we go with the fact that he removed the tag from his mattress!!

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  2. Ian

    A fact check about who clapped for whom? I’m sorry, Alec, that this is what our divisive politics have forced you into. You do such important work, and the fact that this warranted your attention is embarrassing.

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    1. Phillip

      So the dispatch is part of a fact checking group. Not sure how they were selected for this, but maybe you should understand why they fact check to begin with. This was more than likely not what the dispatch wants to spend its time on, but it’s helpful that they are fact checking because there are few conservative organizations actually doing this.

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    F.X. LEACH

    I want to see video of his neighbor slugging him. Work on it, Alec.

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    Victor Clairmont

    Clap you fools! Clap or be in edited controversy even if you did clap! Thanks for the fact check.

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    1. Jon D

      Scenes of mindless bots in N. Korea and China come to mind, clapping for their respective dictators.

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    Aylene Wright

    Thanks for the Fact Check, this kind of misinformation really annoys me no matter where it comes fromx and unfortunately tends to go viral because it reinforces priors.

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  6. Avatar photo
    Adam Bridge

    This is what's wrong with polar politics: demonizing the opposition. I can dislike Rand Paul's politics without this kind of garbage. I mean the report from "The Other 98%" on Facebook, not the fact check.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Michael DiCianna

      I'd say more than that, at least. There's plenty to demonize about Rand Paul without needing to fake it. He's a cowardly weak person, and he should be ashamed of how he's failed his state and country.

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      1. Avatar photo
        Mike from Jersey

        Being a Kentuckian (Kentuckite?) I’d love to hear your views on how he failed your state.

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        Michael DiCianna

        But he shouldn't get a Stalinist treatment for not clapping enough.

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    I Am the Eggman

    He seems to stop clapping before everyone else, which may or may not be worth noting (what does it mean?), but yes, he clearly does clap for the first several seconds. Thanks!

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