On Sunday, Fabiola Santiago, a columnist for the Miami Herald, tweeted that loosening restrictions on Florida beaches would do nicely to thin the ranks of Republicans:
Screen grab of the tweet before it was deleted
Santiago referred to supporters of President Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez, all Republicans. She later deleted the tweet and offered a half-hearted apology that reads like a hostage tape:
THREAD: I deleted the tweet commenting on people at the beach because it didn’t accurately convey my sentiment and I want to apologize for the phrase I used that offended many people. Regardless of political differences, I would never wish any harm on anyone. 1/2
— Fabiola Santiago (@fabiolasantiago) April 20, 2020
Here’s a screen cap in case more tweets go missing:
Twitter didn’t exactly accept the veracity of her apology.
So 'thinning the ranks' didn't mean to convey the sentiment that you wished illness and death on people who support specific GOP candidates? What WAS the sentiment, then? Seems pretty straightforward.
— The deadly river Neva (@pipandbaby) April 20, 2020
It did accurately portray your sentiment until you got called out for it. Journalism in America is rotten to its core. Gone are the days of objectivity and at present we see activists masquerading as journalists.
— @tander123 (@tander123) April 20, 2020
What exactly did you mean by "thin the ranks," then? You wanted Trump supporters to die. pic.twitter.com/oNyoh9n84f
— Shane Rider 🇺🇸 (@shaneriderMA) April 20, 2020
The Speaker of the State House weighed in:
"Fabiola Santiago shed the often thin veil of impartiality long ago. Now, she reduces herself further by openly wishing for the death of those Floridians who don't share her views. It is a stain upon the @MiamiHerald and the actual professionals who work there…1/2
— Jose Oliva (@RepJoseOliva) April 20, 2020
to be associated with this sort of blatant and bush league behavior. Journalism, like politics, often reinforce the unfortunate stereotypes associated to them. I call on the Herald to denounce @fabiolasantiago statement." 2/2
— Jose Oliva (@RepJoseOliva) April 20, 2020
Speaker Oliva’s full statement reads:
Fabiola Santiago shed the often thin veil of impartiality long ago. Now, she reduces herself further by openly wishing for the death of those Floridians who don’t share her views. It is a stain upon the @MiamiHerald and the actual professionals who work there to be associated with this sort of blatant and bush league behavior. Journalism, like politics, often reinforce the unfortunate stereotypes associated to them. I call on the Herald to denounce @fabiolasantiago‘s statement.
Apparently Santiago doesn’t fancy those who might just have a bit of concern about the upheaval in people’s lives.
https://twitter.com/fabiolasantiago/status/1251895872964698113
As of Monday afternoon, the Herald had not released a statement regarding Santiago.
Jeff Reynolds is the author of the book, “Behind the Curtain: Inside the Network of Progressive Billionaires and Their Campaign to Undermine Democracy,” available now at www.WhoOwnsTheDems.com. Jeff hosts a podcast at anchor.fm/BehindTheCurtain. You can follow him on Twitter @ChargerJeff.
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