Democrat politicians in New York erupted in outrage on Thursday evening over a fake quote from Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) that attacked Democrat New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The quote, which Waters said in 2018, had been altered from her original words, which attacked members of the Trump administration.
The viral tweet came on the same day that the state’s attorney general said that Cuomo’s team had severely undercounted coronavirus deaths in nursing homes in the state by more than 50%.
A troll Twitter accounted tweeted the fake quote from Waters, writing: “If you see anybody from the Cuomo Administration in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”
Waters originally said those remarks in June 2018, but she made them about Trump administration officials, not members of the Cuomo administration.
Democrats in the state of New York, including at least one federal official representing the state, responded in anger to the tweet, although in some cases it was not exactly clear if they believed the quote was real.
Former Pete Buttigieg adviser Lis Smith wrote: “Way way way over the line. Especially in light of what happened at the Capitol on Jan 6.”
Way way way over the line. Especially in light of what happened at the Capitol on Jan 6. https://t.co/bsYpq2tFYK
— Lis Smith (@Lis_Smith) January 29, 2021
New York Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote: “This is encouraging violence against public officials – plain & simple. Absolutely disgusting. No tolerance for this. Haven’t we learned the lessons from Washington D.C. just weeks ago?”
This is encouraging violence against public officials – plain & simple. Absolutely disgusting. No tolerance for this.
Haven't we learned the lessons from Washington D.C. just weeks ago? pic.twitter.com/3qOA5QcmnB
— Kathy Hochul (@LtGovHochulNY) January 29, 2021
Democrat New York State Sen. Jamaal T. Bailey wrote: “This is more than tonedeaf, especially considering what’s happened in recent days. This is unacceptable and ridiculous. Read the room.”
This is more than tonedeaf, especially considering what’s happened in recent days. This is unacceptable and ridiculous. Read the room. https://t.co/tOZrhFDxnW
— Jamaal T. Bailey (@jamaaltbailey) January 29, 2021
NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson wrote: “The terrifying events of the last month have shown us more clearly than ever that words have consequences. This sort of targeting and incitement is simply wrong, and totally unacceptable.”
The terrifying events of the last month have shown us more clearly than ever that words have consequences. This sort of targeting and incitement is simply wrong, and totally unacceptable. https://t.co/9032s4RK9T
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) January 29, 2021
Speaker of the New York State Assembly Carl Heastie wrote: “This is appalling and dangerous. Encouraging violence must never be tolerated. Shame on whoever is behind this kind of garbage.”
Melissa DeRosa, secretary to Cuomo, retweeted that tweet on her verified Twitter account.
This is appalling and dangerous. Encouraging violence must never be tolerated. Shame on whoever is behind this kind of garbage. https://t.co/piPMVEOUWl
— Carl E. Heastie (@CarlHeastie) January 29, 2021
NY State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar wrote: “This kind of incitement to violence against government leaders must stop. Especially after the recent seige at the U.S. Capitol, we must condemn these types of threats. They endanger our democracy. This is not who we are and we can do better.”
This kind of incitement to violence against government leaders must stop. Especially after the recent seige at the U.S. Capitol, we must condemn these types of threats. They endanger our democracy. This is not who we are and we can do better.
— Jenifer Rajkumar (@JeniferRajkumar) January 29, 2021
Washington Free Beacon reporter Alex Griswold noted that Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) also weighed-in in a now-deleted tweet, writing: “As a Congressman who lived through the insurrection against the US Congress, I am appalled by the tweet below, which is an invitation to violence against public officials. We must all denounce in no uncertain terms any attempt at inciting political violence.”
Oh boy, they got Ritchie Torres, who's a *U.S. congressman*. Maxine Waters is the chairwoman of his committee. pic.twitter.com/rRSGQLktQx
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) January 29, 2021
Other responses included:
Really? Did we not learn anything from the Capitol insurrection?
We must condemn violence and harassment in any form. #StopTheViolence #MobMentality https://t.co/GqXadr2v4w
— Debi Rose (@CMDebiRose) January 29, 2021
Violent rhetoric like this will not be tolerated. Especially in the aftermath of the Capitol insurrection, we must condemn all forms of violence against our public officials.
— Queens Borough President Donovan Richards (@QnsBPRichards) January 29, 2021
This is dangerous, reprehensible and has no place in any public discussion. Oh, and spare me the “someone else did it too” excuse. Someone else saying a variation of this doesn’t change the fact that this is seeking to incite violence against a public official and their staff.
— Ken Zebrowski (@kenzebrowski_ny) January 29, 2021
This is outrageous! Folks can respectfully disagree with the governor on policy but we can NOT actively threaten him or his staff you need to remove this post and apologize. This is over the top period
— Assembly Member Khaleel M. Anderson (@KhaleelAnderson) January 29, 2021
We need to stop this behavior towards elected officials and especially their staff. The seige of the Capitol empowered behavior like this and must be stopped at any moment it creeps its head out in any fashion.
— Kenny Burgos (@KennyBurgosNY) January 29, 2021
This is outrageous and this dangerous incitement needs to stop. This is not who we are and we should never resort to this abhorrent behavior. We are better than this
— Mark Treyger (@MarkTreyger718) January 29, 2021
What's wrong with you? Threatening violence against duly elected representatives of the people of New York is fascism.
The hatred unleashed by Trump and his gang of thugs continues to reverberate throughout the country. Enough is enough.
— Jeffrey Dinowitz (@JeffreyDinowitz) January 29, 2021
(I think it goes without saying, but yes they're all Democrats)
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) January 29, 2021