In politics, there is tone-deaf – and then there is really tone-deaf.
The Democratic state senators from New York have demonstrated the latter.
Democratic Sens. Robert Jackson and Rachel May were forced to apologize after a radical environmental group got them to hold up for the cameras a banner that equated climate change to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to The Blaze.
The colorful banner they posed behind showed a white jetliner with the words “climate change” written on the side headed toward a rendering of the Twin Towers.
A photo showed that the banner said “Wake Up America.”
May and Jackson both said they attended the event to call for greater anti-warming funding in the state budget.
They both claimed they did not look at the banner or know what was on it.
“I attended the rally today to support a significant investment in climate change in the state budget. I posed for numerous photos with activists, and did not see the content of the sign,” May said on Twitter.
“The imagery on the banner is unacceptable and I would never endorse such a cynical use of our state’s history to score cheap points. I apologize sincerely to all New Yorkers and call upon the organizers to similarly condemn this message.”
Also commenting on Twitter, Jackson said, “Today, I attended a rally in support of investments in addressing climate change. I posed for photos with many advocates standing at the rally, one of them a veteran of our nation holding up his banner.”
“I did not note the details of the artwork and would never support anything that denigrates the memory of all who were impacted by 9/11. The artwork depicted is wrong and I fully reject it,” he added.
Continuing, Jackson also tweeted, “As a NYC native who continues to be personally impacted by the events of that horrific day, I sincerely apologize to anyone who might be confused by any political ploy to mischaracterize my actions.”
“Indeed the only time I saw the banner in its entirety was on the minority leader’s social media. There are two truths here: climate justice is not a political agenda and 9/11 can never be used for political points.”
The minority leader Jackson referred to is Republican Sen. Rob Ortt, who tweeted, “This shameful use of 9/11 imagery offends every New Yorker.”
“My colleagues @SRachelMay and @SenatorRJackson are using a horrific attack on our Nation to advance their political agenda. The @NYSenDems should condemn this disgusting display.”
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