Leftists have proven they are willing to use nearly any crisis or tragedy as a political tool, and two Democratic New York state senators demonstrated this again on Tuesday.
According to The Washington Free Beacon, Sens. Rachel May and Robert Jackson attended a protest hosted by New York Renew, a group with the goal of promoting “climate justice.”
During the protest, May and Jackson held up a banner comparing climate change to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Their banner depicted a plane with the words “climate change” approaching the World Trade Center’s twin towers.
Islamic extremists in hijacked aircraft targeted those buildings and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, and the resulting destruction killed nearly 3,000 people.
WNYW-TV reporter Morgan McKay shared a photo of the two senators holding the banner on Twitter.
Here is the picture of New York State Senator Robert Jackson and Senator Rachel May holding the sign comparing climate change to 9/11 pic.twitter.com/2cT8t9ZT6A
— Morgan McKay (@morganfmckay) March 8, 2022
In a tweet thread of his own, Jackson attempted to distance himself from the banner and claimed he did not realize it depicted a 9/11 comparison.
“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 Democrat said. “The artwork depicted is wrong and I fully reject it.”
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. 2/5
— Robert Jackson (@SenatorRJackson) March 8, 2022
However, McKay posted a video that showed Jackson reading the banner word for word during the protest.
NEW: Senator Robert Jackson says he did not realize that he was holding a sign comparing climate change to 9/11 but here is a video of him pointing to the sign and reading it out loud https://t.co/V53EPComgs pic.twitter.com/u9wKsjVwdU
— Morgan McKay (@morganfmckay) March 8, 2022
The senator was staring right at the banner and reading from it during the protest, so it is extremely difficult to believe he did not know what was depicted.
May also denied knowledge of the banner’s contents despite holding it up.
“I would never endorse such a cynical use of our state’s history to score cheap points,” she said.
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.
— Dr. Rachel May (@SRachelMay) March 8, 2022
If May truly agreed to appear in a photo alongside a banner without having any idea what it said, she should probably hire a new public relations team.
Logically, it is much more likely that she knew exactly what the banner said and is now trying to save face. In either case, her actions do not inspire confidence in her leadership ability.
Try as they might, Jackson and May were not able to silence many of their critics with their denials.
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. pic.twitter.com/Z9uWxjPxLD
— Rob Ortt (@SenatorOrtt) March 8, 2022
Republican state Sen. Rob Ortt said the whole Democratic caucus ought to take action against Jackson and May following what he called a “disgusting display.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
