Brother of Sandy Hook victim fact checks Joe Biden
Brother of Sandy Hook victim JT Lewis speaks out against former Vice President Joe Biden's claim he met with all affected families.
Former Vice President Joe Biden's claim in a recent campaign ad that he visited and met with every one of the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting is false, the brother of a victim said Friday.
"Gun violence has been a concern of mine for a long, long, time," Biden said in his latest video. "What really got to me though, really firsthand, was what happened up in Sandy Hook. I think I met with every one of the parents and/or of the families of those who are lost."
Connecticut State Senate candidate JT Lewis, 19, took to Twitter to call out Biden, saying he never met with their family.
"This is a lie," wrote Lewis, whose brother Jesse was 6 when he was killed in the mass shooting. "Obama came to Sandy Hook and met with every family. Joe Biden DID NOT. In fact, my family was not allowed on Air Force One because we refused to support Obama/Biden gun control efforts."
Appearing on "Fox & Friends: First" with host Rob Schmitt, Lewis said President Obama was the one who put in hours talking with families.
"Joe Biden wasn't there, and what he talks about in his videos is firsthand experience with families and first responders, and I wanted to clarify that it was actually President Obama who came there in the days after the shooting and met with us and helped us through that really tragic time," said Lewis.
"Look, I know Joe Biden's coming from a place of sympathy having lost his son, and I know he means well. But, when you get these little things mixed up, it comes across very negatively."
Biden addressed Sandy Hook family members on June 15, 2016, CBS News reported, but it was unclear whether all families were represented. Lewis said he didn't think Biden was intentionally lying.
"He seems like a very nice person who does care," said Lewis. "The problem is, he is getting things mixed up and that's not what you want to see in a frontrunner for president."
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Lewis' brother was just 6 years old when gunman Adam Lanza entered his classroom. Lanza fired a few bullets, but his gun jammed. In that interval and before he was shot, Jesse Lewis yelled out for his classmates to "run," and nine of them escaped the gunfire.
"What an amazing story," said JT. "One that we actually got to share with President Obama when he came to Newtown and one we actually shared with President Trump years later.
"And, interestingly enough," he noted. "it was the only thing I've ever seen bring those two men from complete[ly] opposite ends of the political spectrum together. They both had the same reaction; it was emotional."
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