MSNBC Contributor Calls Seeing Pickup Trucks with American Flags 'Disturbing'
MSNBC contributor Mara Gay said during an interview on the network Tuesday that she was disturbed by “dozens of American flags” displayed by supporters of former President Donald Trump during a weekend trip to Long Island, New York.
Gay, also an editorial board member for The New York Times, said, “I was on Long Island this weekend visiting a really dear friend, and I was really disturbed. I saw, you know, dozens and dozens of pickup trucks with, you know, expletives against Joe Biden on the back of them, Trump flags, and some cases just dozens of American flags, which, you know, is also just disturbing.”
She added, “Essentially the message was clear. It was, ‘This is my country. This is not your country. I own this.'”
In another part of the interview, Gay addressed her concerns about the connection between Trump supporters, “Americanness” and whiteness.
“The reality is here that we have a large percentage of the American population — I don’t know how big it is, but we have tens of millions of Trump voters who continue to believe that their rights as citizens are under threat by simple virtue of having to share the democracy with others,” she said.
“I think that as long as they see Americanness as the same as one with whiteness, this is going to continue.”
NYT/MSNBC’s @MaraGay: In Long Island last weekend, I saw “dozens of American flags,” which was “just disturbing” pic.twitter.com/RhGdqqJope
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 8, 2021
Many Americans on social media took offense at Gay’s remarks. ACT for America tweeted, “Liberals don’t even try to hide their hatred for America anymore.”
Liberals don’t even try to hide their hatred for America anymore… https://t.co/F2hLMMwxtU
— ACTforAmerica (@ACTforAmerica) June 8, 2021
Another Twitter user noted, “Imagine being triggered by these [American flags].”
Imagine being triggered by these ????. https://t.co/vpAXY41YYY
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) June 8, 2021
Former CIA officer Bryan Dean Wright added, “Next Monday is Flag Day. Fly one in honor of @MaraGay, who gets absolutely triggered by them.”
Next Monday is Flag Day.
Fly one in honor of @MaraGay, who gets absolutely triggered by them. https://t.co/iKKe8VFcXM
— BDW (@BryanDeanWright) June 8, 2021
Gay also ignited controversy during a June 1 appearance on MSNBC’s program “Morning Joe.” The analyst accused white people of being “very good at forgetting history” while discussing the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Gay condemned whites for “forgetting” the incident even as America’s white president — Joe Biden — visited Tulsa to commemorate the tragedy.
“I think Americans — especially white Americans — but Americans in general, tend to be very good at forgetting history, but also tend to think that slavery was a very long time ago and that discrimination was a very long time ago,” Gay told MSNBC host Joe Scarborough.
“The reality is not — that’s just not the case.”
“I think the way forward, of course, as a country together is to acknowledge this history before you move forward. It doesn’t mean you have to stay there forever,” Gay said.
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