NYT writer ‘disturbed’ by ‘dozens of American flags’ on Long Island

Mara Gay of The New York Times says “dozens of American flags” flying on Long Island during the anniversary of D-Day left her “really disturbed.”

The writer, a member of the newspaper’s editorial board, made the comments during a Tuesday appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Ms. Gay proffered the premise that former President Trump’s supporters “see Americanness as the same as one with whiteness” and refuse to “share the democracy with others.

“I was on Long Island this weekend, visiting a really dear friend,” she said. “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 in some cases, just dozens of American flags, which you know is also just disturbing, because essentially the message was clear, this is my country. This is not your country. I own this.”

Ms. Gay added that until “we’re ready to have that conversation” about Republican bumper stickers, American flags, the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, and “whiteness,” then “this is going to continue.”

She also lamented her industry peers who fail to see the “threat” of Mr. Trump’s voters.

“What really is concerning to me as well is, it’s not just Democrats in Congress,” she continued. “I think there’s a large percentage of Americans, even some of my colleagues in journalism, who are invested in some way in pretending that this isn’t the threat that it is. That is the real concern. Because, you know, the Trump voters who are not going to get onboard with democracy, they’re a minority. You can marginalize them, long-term. But if we don’t take the threat seriously, then I think we’re all in really bad shape.” 

The media watchdog NewsBusters blasted Ms. Gay’s “deranged rant” while spotlighting similar coverage on the network.

“To make this commentary even more ridiculous, over the weekend, MSNBC host Brian Williams actually promoted a pro-Antifa ad from the Lincoln project, which compared Antifa terrorists to U.S. soldiers who stormed Normandy to liberate France from the Nazis,” wrote the organization’s Kristine Marsh. “So, according to MSNBC, violent left-wing anarchist terrorists are patriots, but Trump supporters with American flags are a ’disturbing’ threat to our democracy.”