New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay has been defended by her bosses after saying she was 'disturbed' by the number of s...
New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay has been defended by her bosses after saying she was 'disturbed' by the number of stars and stripes flags on display during a trip to Long Island.
The paper's official PR Twitter account backed Gay on Tuesday night, tweeting: 'New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay's comments on MSNBC have been irresponsibly taken out of context.'
'Her argument was that Trump and many of his supporters have politicized the American flag. The attacks on her today are ill-informed and grounded in bad-faith.'
The controversy began on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Monday after Gay said she was 'disturbed' to see American flags flown on pickup trucks in a recent trip to Long Island.
Gay, who also works as an MSNBC commentator, said the flags were being flown on trucks belonging to Trump supporters, with the vehicles also bearing expletives against President Joe Biden.
New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay said the flags were being flown on trucks belonging to Trump supporters, with the vehicles also bearing expletives against President Joe Biden
The New York Times has since defended editorial board member Mara Gay, claiming that recent comments she made were taken out of context
Gay said the flag-bearing trucks were sending a message that, 'this is my country. This is not your country. I own this.' Pictured are Trump supporters sailing through the streets of Portland, Oregon in their pickup in August 2020
Gay sparked fierce backlash on social media Tuesday as she said the displays were symptomatic of a broad coalition of Americans who feel threatened as citizens.
'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,' Gay had said on MSNBC.
'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 explicatives (sic) against Joe Biden on the back of them, Trump flags, and in some cases just dozens of American flags, which is also just disturbing because essentially the message was clear. It was this is my country. This is not your country. I own this.'
She added that a solution, 'to get every American a place at the table,' needed to involve separating 'whiteness' from 'Americanness.'
Gay was responding to a call by host Mika Brzezinski for an investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Her comments received a scathing response on social media, after which she further tweeted: 'I see I’m being trolled with the American flag this morning. Trolling a Black journalist with the American flag is not the own some people think it is.'
The commentator was slammed for what many said was a dig against displays of patriotism.
New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay was slammed on social media Tuesday for comments she made on MSNBC's Morning Joe earlier in the day saying she was 'disturbed' to see dozens of American flags flying from pickup trucks in a recent trip to Long Island
'As a son of a WWII [veteran], I proudly display the American flag on the front of my house,' tweeted Harry McNeir.
'American flags is now considered hateful what the hell is going on with our country,' posted @DankRhythm.
'Wow dozens of American flags the horror of of it lol,' Blake Katuin commented.
'Wait now a pick up trick with an American flag is now racist?? What's next saluting the American flag?' tweeted @swell472.
'Why is skin color even being brought into this discussion?' tweeted Matt Haubrich. 'This narrative is disgusting and they keep peddling it, and Joe's panel says nothing. I find people who group everyone in boxes very disturbing.'
Many said Gay's comments represented a dig against displays of American patriotism
'Mara gay is but a glimpse of what the future will be like for the US, a self-loathing, socialistic hateful country, with no borders.' said @kendrickNQB.
'So... who's the threat? This is disturbing!' wrote Chris Barnett. 'American flags relate to whiteness? The American flag represents any color or creed of [a] person who legally lives here!'
Mark Ashworth said, it's likely that the people Gay was referring to would likely be the first to help if she were in trouble.
'The people she's snarling at are the ones who'll pull over and put her spare on if she has a flat,' he tweeted.
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