Tipsheet
Premium

Here's What Squad Members Think Memorial Day Is About

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  May 27, 2024 6:45 PM

If you're in Congress, and if you're going to be posting about Memorial Day, you really ought to know what the meaning of the holiday is actually about. It's specifically to honor those servicemembers who paid the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives in the line of duty. We also have Veterans Day to celebrate all our veterans. That appears to be too much to ask, though. 

Unfortunately, Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Cori Bush (D-MO), both members of the Squad, mixed up those holidays. Their posts from Monday have since been deleted, but there's screenshots of posts that refer to all veterans.

In the case of Omar, her post read that "On #MemorialDay, we honor the heroic men and women who served our country," as she even included a hashtag that others could see, further amplifying her mistake. "We owe them more than our gratitude – they have more than earned access to quality mental health services, job opportunities, housing assistance, and the benefits they were promised." That original post went for something of a political angle as well.

Another post came from her political account and didn't go up until almost two and a half hours later. It does not include such a hashtag. "On Memorial Day, let’s say thank you to the brave men and women who selflessly sacrificed their lives in service to our country. Thank you to the families who also have sacrificed and have dedicated their time to ensuring their loved ones are remembered," it merely reads. There's no reference to the original post, though plenty have chimed in to still mock the congresswoman.

As of Monday evening, there is not even a subsequent post from her official account. The account's bio tellingly notes "Account managed by staff." While there has been no explanation, it looks like the move would just be blamed on a staffer if such an explanation were to come. 

Recommended

Georgia Conducted a Hand Count Audit of Its Election Results. Guess What it Found? Guy Benson
The View Forced to Read Three Legal Notes Within Minutes of One Another Following Trump AG Appointment Sarah Arnold

Then there's Bush, whose posts on Memorial Day came rather later in the day, and only after she also posted condemning Israel's actions in Rafah, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called a "tragic mistake" when it comes to loss of civilian life there. 

"This #MemorialDay & every day, we honor our veterans in St. Louis," the original post read, also going for a rather political tone. "We must invest in universal health care, affordable housing, comprehensive mental health services, and educational & economic opportunities for our veterans as we work to build a world free of war and violence."

The subsequent post from her official account still goes for a political tone. "We must continue to push to protect our service members while working to build a world free of war and violence," it now reads in part. 

Just like as is the case with Omar's post, there doesn't appear to be mention of the error, not by Bush at least. Users were all too happy to remind Bush about her mistake. 

Squad members such as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) didn't even post about Memorial Day at all on Monday, though she's posted and reposted at length highlighting the death toll in Rafah. This includes the same post that Bush made when sharing Al Jazeera, a propaganda outlet that has been banned in Israel, though has still been defended by the White House. 

In a particularly unhinged rant, Tlaib herself went off on Netanyahu, not buying his explanation.

In something of a bold move, Tlaib even tagged President Joe Biden's official account. She's accused the president of genocide before, for what tepid support for Israel he's dared to show since the October 7 terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas. That post, just weeks after th attack, even defended the use of the genocidal phrase "from the river to the sea," for which she was soon after censured for. 

These posts all came from her political account; there were none from her official account, and have been no posts since May 24. 

Another (dis)honorable mention is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who made only posted about Memorial Day from her official account, and did so by sharing pictures from an event that was something of a photo opp to for the Squad member.

From her political account, AOC also tagged Biden's official account in condemning the civilian deaths in Rafah. "It is long past time for the President to live up to his word and suspend military aid," she also insisted, a move that Biden has already threatened and heavily criticized.