Ryan Nicol
Conservative blogger Javier Manjarres seems to be playing tricks with the truth on a recent campaign mailer for his candidacy in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District.
Manjarres, who runs the right-wing blog The Shark Tank, recently sent the mailer to voters as he tries to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch.
Next to a picture of Manjarres are the words, “U.S. Air Force,” presumably touting his service in the military. That’s despite a lack of easily searchable records tying Manjarres to the Air Force.
Florida Politics reached out to Manjarres to discuss his time in the Air Force, but he repeatedly refused to answer our questions.
Instead, we contacted the Air Force directly, speaking with Mike Dickerson at the Air Force Personnel Center.
He indicated there is a record of a “Javier Manjarres,” with the same date of birth as the candidate, joining the U.S. Air Force. Those records show Manjarres listed with the rank of “Airman Basic” before being separated from the Air Force in September 1990 before completion of his basic military training.
Dickerson could not comment on the reason for the separation, citing privacy laws.
While it may be technically accurate that Manjarres did sign up for the Air Force, readers and voters can decide for themselves whether his attempt to associate himself with the Air Force is proper given that he did not even complete basic training, according to records.
That’s not the ad’s only problem, however. The mailer also shows a picture of President Donald Trump next to the statement, in quotation marks, “Javier embodies #MAGA.”
A plain reading of that mailer makes it appear Trump said those words.
Only, he didn’t. Instead, those are the words of U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida’s 1st Congressional District. When Gaetz endorsed Manjarres in the CD 22 Republican primary, Gaetz reportedly said, “Very few people supported President Trump as early on as Javier. Javier embodies #MAGA.” That’s according to the site Red Broward.
That’s also according to the other side of Manjarres’ own mailer, which attributes the quote correctly to Gaetz.
Again, we asked Manjarres about the possibility some voters could be confused into thinking Trump made that statement.
His response to our questions was as follows: “Florida Politics is a hack website published by someone accused of pay for play, and has a political agenda, and use[d] to write for the liberal website [D]aily Kos.”
Manjarres is one of three Republicans competing in the CD 22 race, along with entrepreneur Nicolas Kimaz and finance industry veteran Eddison Walters. The primary is Aug. 28.
2 comments
Eddison Walters for Congress, District 22
July 28, 2018 at 7:51 am
Javier Manjarres, what a low life!
The sick, twisted, desperate, violent ex-con Javier Manjarres is such a low life, he is now lying about serving in the U.S. Air Force when he never even completed basic training. He did not complete college and does not even have a bachelor’s degree. The only thing he has to offer is his big mouth and a big ego which is not hardly the qualification on would expect of a person who wants to represent the district in Washington D.C. In addition to lying about the Air Force, he calls himself a conservative, but he is not married and lives with a woman and have kids with the woman.
Eddison Walters for Congress, District 22
August 2, 2018 at 9:58 am
Visit EddisonWaltersForCongress.com. Support the only candidate who can win in the General Election.
It is no surprise the violent ex-con Javier Manjarres is now engaged in this type of desperate misleading campaigning. His explanation for lying about having the support of the President and serving in the U.S. Air Force sound much like the explanation Bill Clinton gave for his answer about having sexual relations. “it depends on what the meaning of is, is”. Javier Manjarres dropped out of the U.S. Air Forse. He dropped out of college. He has a history of a violent criminal arrest that include a guilty plea. Now he is running for Congress. You couldn’t make this stuff up. Say no to a violent criminal. Say no to a dishonest candidate who is the embodiment of the swamp. Visit EddisonWaltersForCongress.com. Support the only candidate who can win in the general election. With a Doctorate in Global Business, MBA in International Business, a Bachelor’s in Commerce and Business Administration and over 25 years of working with small businesses, Eddison Walters experience and education makes him by far the best candidate to represent the people of District 22 in the U.S. Congress.
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