NYT editorial board member ‘disturbed’ by American flags on pickup trucks

Mara Gay, New York Times editorial board member and MSNBC analyst appeared on Morning Joe to talk about Max Boot’s recent opinion editorial and also the “disturbing” number of American flags she’s seen on pickup trucks lately. She was trying to demonstrate Trump’s ongoing influence, even in “blue” Long Island.

“I was on Long Island this weekend … and I was really disturbed. I saw, you know, dozens & dozens of pickup trucks w/ expletives against Joe Biden … Trump flags, and in some cases, just dozens of American flags, which is also just disturbing,” Gay said.

“Essentially the message was clear: ‘This is my country. This is not your country. I own this,'” she went on. To her, the American flag flying from a pickup truck is a relic of “Americanness” still not being “separated from whiteness.”

Twitter users started responding almost immediately. Former CIA officer Bryan Dean Wright suggested that people should display flags in honor of her because “she gets absolutely triggered by them.”

New York Concordia University professor Gad Saad also poked fun, sarcastically suggesting to “ban the American flag for peace.”

Gay seemed undisturbed to see her clip make the rounds on Twitter. “Trolling a Black journalist with the American flag is not the own some people think it is,” she tweeted.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.