NY Times Defends Mara Gay, Says Comments About American Flags Were ‘Irresponsibly Taken Out of Context’
The New York Times put out a statement Tuesday night defending editorial board member Mara Gay after some outrage over comments she made on MSNBC.
Gay was on Morning Joe earlier in the day and reacted to Mika Brzezinski talking about people “who were hornswoggled or misled in any way by this man who is a threat to our democracy to this moment,” referring to former President Donald Trump.
Gay said there’s still a need for a commission to look into the events of January 6th and added that millions of Trump voters “continue to believe that their rights as citizens are under threat by simple virtue of having to share the democracy with others.”
“I think as long as they see Americanness as the same as one with whiteness, this is going to continue,” she continued.
Gay then went on to describe a scene she witnessed in Long Island this past weekend:
I was really disturbed. I saw, you know, dozens and dozens of pickup trucks with expletives 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.” And so until we’re ready to have that conversation, this is going to continue.
A clip from the segment got some pick-up on Twitter, saying Gay was describing the sight of the American flags as disturbing.
American flags are disturbing now https://t.co/5SDYG8tcxq
— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) June 8, 2021
Being shocked and disturbed seeing average Americans fly American flags proudly is nothing short of an absolute parody on coast elitism.
For the love of God leave Manhattan once in a while New York Times editorial board members!!! https://t.co/Opi5bLCFh7
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) June 8, 2021
They hate America. And they want your kids to hate it as much as they do. https://t.co/1TReYtYPte
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) June 8, 2021
The Times Communications Twitter account posted a statement saying her comments were “irresponsibly taken out of context.”
“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 statement said.
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.
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) June 8, 2021
You can watch Gay’s full comments above, via MSNBC.
