State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Pa.) is either a total space cadet or is trolling the universe after he appeared to mistake a “Star Wars” prop for a captured drone.
In fairness to the Trump-endorsed Republican who lost to Democrat Josh Shapiro for governor in 2022, we’ll give him his say first: He insists he was knowingly using the image as a meme.
But he absorbed nearly a day of online mockery for writing a serious-sounding statement about the government response to the drones. And it was accompanied by a photo of a “Star Wars” TIE fighter replica on a truck with the headline: “Breaking News: Crashed drone in Orange Beach retrieved from water, and taken to undisclosed location for further investigation.”
He received a community correction and some online sass for the apparent blunder. Among prominent people chiming in were former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and CNN’s Jake Tapper. Critics also called him “dumb” and “stupid.”
Mysterious drones appearing over New York and New Jersey have captured the public’s imagination but federal officials say they don’t pose a threat.
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Mastriano sure seemed rattled but asserted that the farce was with him ― and he turned his response into an indictment of “modern day ‘journalism.’”