I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am not a fan of President Trump, but the insanity that he invokes on the Left is truly something to behold (The Handmaid’s Tale is fiction, calm down). The latest example of Trump-induced panic comes to us courtesy of a New York Times contributor an apparently unemployed writer* named Miranda Yaver, who wants everyone to know that she is Extremely Outraged at Something Horrible that Ivanka Trump tweeted.
Here’s the Ivanka tweet that caused all the fuss:
To any kid, this fish is a trophy! 🐟 🎣 🏆 pic.twitter.com/wSpMZ0aFkQ
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) December 26, 2017
In Florida, it’s not uncommon for the weather to be very pleasant around Christmas (it’s been around the mid-60s to mid-70s for the past week where my family lives in Orlando, and the Trump home is further south from here, so even warmer). Ivanka’s family took full advantage of this and enjoyed a fun day on the water the day after Christmas, as shown in the four photos Ivanka posted with her tweet. Her young son even caught a fish with help from Daddy Jared Kushner. A lovely family memory for all of them.
But wait! What’s that horror lurking in the background? Never fear, Miranda Yaver, PhD is on the case!
Hey @IvankaTrump, what's up with the confederate flag in the background up the upper right picture? https://t.co/0mLjJ04j9i
— Miranda Yaver (@mirandayaver) December 26, 2017
This is the photo that has so gravely offended Dr. Yaver:
Yes, that’s a Confederate flag flapping in the breeze on that little boat floating in the background behind Kushner and his son.
Wow. That’s horrible. How dare Ivanka Trump take her family out for a nice day on the water and not take the time to inspect every flag flying on every other boat within view?
Seriously.
This is so stupid.
What exactly did Yaver expect Ivanka and her family to do? I strongly suspect they never even noticed the tiny boat behind them, much less the tiny flag, folded up in the wind. Even if they had seen it, the boat owner has a First Amendment right to fly that flag.
Twitter had a similar reaction to Yaver’s tweet, giving her a really lopsided version of The Ratio, with (at the time of this writing) over 500 mostly-mocking replies and only 41 retweets and 161 likes.
I think what's up is she took a picture of her adorable son with his father focusing on them not some random boat passing by.
— KatLadyNE (@KatLadyNE) December 27, 2017
It’s literally on another boat 😂😭 pic.twitter.com/jq83xY8cib
— 🎄 •ĀńDręw // Štäñd!šH• 🎅🏼 (@standish1992) December 27, 2017
https://twitter.com/btrader/status/945857207203135488
What’d you do, zoom in on all of her family pics? Yeah, Ivanka was having fun with her beautiful family, not scrutinizing the flag choices of other boaters. You’re obsessed, seek help.
— Leigh45🇺🇸 (@lasj45) December 27, 2017
She attempted to defend herself, but didn’t seem to convince anyone.
I am not stupid. I have worked on campaigns, and we cared about the optics of every picture we took — what's in the background, how could it be construed etc. If this admin wants to get past its deeply racist, bigoted reputation, they need to think about these things too.
— Miranda Yaver (@mirandayaver) December 27, 2017
Yaver does have some company in her obsession with scary flags in the background behind Republicans. During the 2012 presidential election, Reporter Zeke Miller was covering the Mitt Romney’s campaign and tweeted his observation that his motorcade drove past a hill where someone was flying a Confederate flag.
Romney motorcade just passed a hill flying a large confederate flag in rural SW VA
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) October 5, 2012
The Trump administration has several issues that are real and legitimate causes for concern. Obsessing over a Confederate flag in the background of a family photo taken by the President’s daughter helps resolve none of that. File this nonsense away along with worrying about what shoes Melania Trump is wearing.
* Dr. Yaver’s Twitter profile says that she is a “political scientist and writer for hire,” and has a PhD from Columbia. Her pinned Tweet touts her “New York Times debut,” but I was only able to find one article under her byline, from back in June, and nothing since then.
Follow Sarah Rumpf on Twitter: @rumpfshaker.
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