WATCH: That Time Everyone Got Mad At Sen. Dianne Feinstein For Dunking On Teen Climate Activists — Until They Saw The Whole Video
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California was known to generations as a trailblazing legislator, but many younger people were introduced to her via a viral video that stirred outrage — until the full video was circulated.
News broke on Friday morning that the longtime senator had passed away at the age of 90, prompting a flood of tributes from colleagues and contemporaries like Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and of course President Joe Biden.
Many knew Feinstein best as a strong advocate for gun control and combating gun violence, a cause that drew her into the national spotlight following the tragic assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and activist Harvey Milk, who also served on the Board of Supervisors.
But many in the social media generation discovered Feinstein when an environmental group called The Sunrise Movement posted a short video of their visit to her office, accusing the senator of treating the school-age activists with “smugness and disrespect”:
This is how @SenFeinstein reacted to children asking her to support the #GreenNewDeal resolution — with smugness + disrespect.
This is a fight for our generation’s survival. Her reaction is why young people desperately want new leadership in Congress. pic.twitter.com/0zAkaxruMI
— Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) February 22, 2019
The tweet generated significant outrage — but many of those same critics felt differently when they saw the full video, which showed Sen. Feinstein engaging their criticisms and even offering one of them an internship:
I certainly let my prior of Senator Feinstein drive my acceptance of the earlier edited clip, that was bad on me. She is certainly not a bold progressive, but she definitely treats the children very nicely, in the face of some hostility, in the full video. https://t.co/v4xBnkuhKY
— David Rothschild 🌻 (@DavMicRot) February 23, 2019
1) I watched the whole Dianne Feinstein video, and I have to say, I’m baffled by the outrage.
I say this episode was a good thing.
Yes, she was at times cantankerous and a bit dismissive of the legitimate political aspirations of these children and their parents.
*THREAD*
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) February 23, 2019
1) I watched the whole Dianne Feinstein video, and I have to say, I’m baffled by the outrage.
I say this episode was a good thing.
Yes, she was at times cantankerous and a bit dismissive of the legitimate political aspirations of these children and their parents.
*THREAD*
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) February 23, 2019
Here’s the @SenFeinstein video threaded #DianneFeinstein pt 2 pic.twitter.com/r2lDYF7RqF
— Tommy moderna-vaX-Topher (@tommyxtopher) February 23, 2019
Pt 4 Here’s the @SenFeinstein video threaded #DianneFeinstein pt 4 pic.twitter.com/aelAQizpef
— Tommy moderna-vaX-Topher (@tommyxtopher) February 23, 2019
Pt 6 Here’s the @SenFeinstein video threaded #DianneFeinstein Pt 6 pic.twitter.com/faKk46W3AP
— Tommy moderna-vaX-Topher (@tommyxtopher) February 23, 2019
Not everyone’s mind was changed, however.
15 minute video (horrible): https://t.co/g3mIR8qlqp
Our edit (shorter, still horrible): https://t.co/bML8YobSiUWe are hiding nothing, and our only agenda is stopping climate change and creating millions of good jobs in the process.
— Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) February 23, 2019
Watch above via Sunrise Movement.
