NEWS
2 Republican Senators Pay Tribute To John Lewis Using Photo Of A Different Black Congressman
GOP Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Dan Sullivan (Alaska) posted tributes to Rep. John Lewis on Saturday and both included photos of themselves with the civil rights icon who died Friday.
Unfortunately for Rubio and Sullivan, the photos they each posted were of Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, who died in October.
“It was an honor to know & be blessed with the opportunity to serve in Congress with John Lewis a genuine & historic American hero,” Rubio tweeted with the photo of himself and Cummings.
Why is *every Republican* so bad at this? Here's Marco Rubio offering his condolences over the death of John Lewis atop a picture of him speaking to *Elijah Cummings*. pic.twitter.com/X7kYQ9cg44
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) July 18, 2020
“It was an honor to have served alongside John for a small portion of his impressive career of service, and to have joined him at the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, a years-long effort of the congressman,” Sullivan wrote on Facebook with the photo of himself and Cummings outside the museum.
.@SenDanSullivan that is not Congressman John Lewis. pic.twitter.com/MJ6kwswIZt
— Dr. Al Gross (@DrAlGrossAK) July 18, 2020
Rubio even briefly made the mistaken photo his profile image on Twitter before it along with his tweet disappeared.
In a follow-up tweet, Rubio acknowledged he “tweeted an incorrect photo” and shared what appears to be a screenshot image of himself with Lewis from 2017 appearance in Miami.
Earlier today I tweeted an incorrect photo
John Lewis was a genuine American hero
I was honored to appear together in Miami 3 years ago at an event captured in video below
My God grant him eternal resthttps://t.co/aEm4MxKxBP pic.twitter.com/0UpWSG3vNQ
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 18, 2020
The response on Twitter was a mix of anger and ridicule, with many users posting photos of various white Republican congressmen and labeling them Rubio.
