Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was called out by Twitter users on Wednesday night after posting a now-deleted tweet that likened vaccine mandates to an arm tattooed with a concentration camp identification number.
Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie deleted a tweet Wednesday night comparing vaccine mandates to the Holocaust. pic.twitter.com/QTSSH7eqpY
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) August 26, 2021
Twitter users of all political stripes pointed out the irony in Massie’s gripes over vaccine mandates, specifically rules like the one in New York City that require proof of vaccination to enter indoor businesses. He, along with other Republican lawmakers, have pushed voter ID requirements in an effort to pose more obstacles to voters — a point of contention that has emerged as Democrats push sweeping voting reform legislation.
Dear @RepThomasMassie: Hi, want to work with me on stopping states from requiring a card before folks can gain access to a voting booth to exercise their constitutional right to vote? https://t.co/2dbMr1zP93
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 26, 2021
Wait until Rep Massive reads the ID requirements to vote that his party wants to enforce. https://t.co/T7I451R884
— Aleksei Ilídio Valentín ✡️♿?️??️⚧️ (@ai_valentin) August 26, 2021
Would love to know his thoughts on requiring us to carry proof of citizenship, though. https://t.co/oonIQAdF5P
— Amanda (@amandabee) August 26, 2021
Following backlash over Massie’s incendiary remarks, Andrew Zirkle, an intern for the Republican congressman, announced his resignation in a Thursday afternoon tweet.
1/ I quit. I wanted to let everyone who knows me personally to know that as soon as I got in to work this morning, I resigned my position in the Office of Congressman Thomas Massie because of his tweet comparing the horrors of the Holocaust to vaccine passports. pic.twitter.com/YXSrPWW80e
— ?Andrew Zirkle? (@theandrewzirkle) August 26, 2021
This isn’t the first time Republican lawmakers have deployed Nazi-era comparisons to complain about COVID-19 mitigation policies.
Following a visit to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. in June, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) finally issued an overdue apology for her “offensive” comments that compared mask policies to the Holocaust amid her refusal to comply with the House’s mask mandate.
After acknowledging the deaths of six million Jews during the Holocaust, Greene finally admitted that her comments were inflammatory.
“There is no comparison to the Holocaust,” Greene said. “And there are words that I have said, remarks that I have made, that I know are offensive, and for that, I want to apologize.”
That apology came after days of backlash and after Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) signaled that he was preparing to introduce a censure resolution against Greene over her comments. Schneider backed away from his censure threat following Greene’s visit to the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Greene, however, hasn’t stopped slinging Nazi-era comparisons. In recent months, she has compared the Biden administration’s door-knocking efforts to promote vaccinations to Nazi “brown shirts” and vaccine mandates to segregation.
