The North Carolina Republican Party has apologized for and deleted a tweet issued Wednesday evening which blasted as ’shameful’ a lapel pin that vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine was wearing.
The @NCGOP Twitter account had criticized the Virginia senator during his acceptance speech for what it thought was a Honduran flag lapel pin, The Hill reported Thursday.
Mr. Kaine referenced his time as a lay Catholic missionary in the Central American country during his address to the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday evening.
“.@timkaine wears a Honduras flag pin on his jacket but no American flag. Shameful,” read tweet from the North Carolina GOP account.
Mr. Kaine was in fact wearing a Blue Star Service pin in honor of his son, Nat, a Marine serving in Eastern Europe, a point raised by WNYT reporter Ben Amey.
“We appreciate you letting us know. Thanks for letting us correct our mistake,” the @NCGOP account replied to Mr. Amey.
Mr. Kaine made reference Wednesday evening to his son’s deployment in a jab at Donald Trump, who has cast doubt on his commitment to the 67-year-old defensive alliance.
The Honduras flag is described by Wikipedia as “a horizontal triband of blue (top and bottom) and white with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered on the white band.” The Blue Star Service Banner, however, depicts a blue five-pointed star within a white rectangle within a red rectangle.
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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