Retired sideline reporter and US Senate hopeful Michele Tafoya became an easy target for fact checkers on Thursday night when she made a questionable claim about Democrat-led California.
‘Almost 30 percent of Californians are homeless on any given night,’ she told Greg Gutfeld, celebrity doctor Drew Pinsky, actor Zachary Levi and contributor Kat Timpf on Fox News.
America’s most populous state has an estimated 187,000 homeless individuals, according to federal data. And while that staggering number accounts for roughly a quarter of all homelessness in the United States, it is far from 30 percent of California’s 38 million residents.
Tafoya’s claim went uncorrected, although Gutfeld did show his surprise by repeating: ‘Thirty percent!’
The 61-year-old Tafoya, who is running as in Minnesota as a Republican, did walk that figure back slightly.
‘I think it’s 28 percent, so close to 30 percent of their population is homeless on any given night,’ she said.
Ex-sideline reporter Michele Tafoya is running for the US Senate as a Republican in Minnesota
CNN’s Jake Tapper was among many to correct Tafoya on X.
‘California has a homelessness problem, with an estimated 187,000 homeless,’ he wrote. ‘California does not have 12 million homeless people.’
Others fact checkers were far more critical.
‘Michelle Tafoya was out to lunch even as a sideline reporter,’ one critic wrote on X. ‘Now, it’s just too much…’
‘LOL,’ another followed, ‘some of that knowledge she got as a sideline reporter.’
While her numbers were off, Tafoya’s message was intended to serve as a critique of California Governor and potential Democratic presidential candidate Gavin Newsom.
‘I can’t think of anything scarier than Gavin Newsom,’ she said.
Tafoya told the Fox News audience she can’t think of anyone scarier than Newsom (pictured)
In January, Tafoya launched her campaign for the Senate seat being vacated by Tina Smith. She will face former Iowa State basketball stark Royce White in the state’s Republican primary.
A 61-married mother of two, Tafoya revealed her political beliefs a decade earlier when she described herself to Sports Illustrated as a ‘a pro-choice conservative.’ She remained with NBC’s Sunday Night Football coverage through 2021 when she stepped away to pursue other opportunities.
Tafoya now hosts an eponymous podcast focusing on a variety of topics.
White was the party’s candidate for Minnesota’s other Senate seat in 2024, but he lost to incumbent Amy Klobuchar in the general election. He has faced accusations of misogyny, homophobia and anti-Semitism during his brief political career.
The state’s ‘Mr. Basketball’ as a high school senior in 2009, White accepted a scholarship to Minnesota but quickly dropped out after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and theft for taking $100 worth of clothes and allegedly pushing a mall security officer to the ground.
ESPN’s Tafoya interviews quarterback Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts in 2007
White speaks during a protest outside the Hennepin County Government Center in 2020
Royce White played in only three NBA games despite being a first-round pick in 2012
He then transferred to Iowa State, where he became one of the most dynamic players in the country. White was so skilled as a ball handler and passer that he was taken by the Houston Rockets with the 16th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft.
Unfortunately for White, who has been open about battling mental health issues, things did not work out in the NBA. Due to his intense fear of flying, the Rockets agreed to allow White to travel by bus. Still, he missed several practices and refused an assignment to the club’s G-League affiliate.
Long-time NBA executive Daryl Morey, the man who picked White with the Rockets, has described him as ‘the worst first-round pick ever,’ and that may not be an exaggeration. White would move on to the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings, but managed to appear in only three NBA games while failing to score a single point.
