Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild continues trend of disparaging constituents by branding veteran a homophobic bigot
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Rep. Susan Wild has locked her personal Facebook account after slandering a veteran she apparently met at a Memorial Day event as homophobic — marking at least the third time the vulnerable Pennsylvania Democrat has disparaged her constituents in recent years.
The latest drama unfolded last week when Wild, up for re-election in November, left this comment on a Facebook friend’s photo featuring a small house flying both American and LGBTQ pride flags: “I suspect that the vet who refused to shake my hand today at a Memorial Day event would not approve of your second flag.”
Wild, who is straight, didn’t offer further details in her comment about the supposedly homophobic veteran.
She has been subjected to plenty of previous criticism for badmouthing voters in her district, which the Cook Political Report rates a toss-up.
Wild, the House Ethics Committee ranking member, appeared to question the intelligence of Carbon County voters in 2022 by saying she needed to “school them” on their strong support for former President Donald Trump.
The rural area had just been added to Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District — making it more conservative overall — at the time of Wild’s comments.
The lawyer doubled down on this sentiment this year, saying in a January Zoom call that she was “dismayed” when Carbon County became part of her district because its residents had “drunk the Trump Kool-Aid.”
Wild is running for her fourth term against Republican Ryan Mackenzie.
Mackenzie, a state legislator from Macungie, was quick to catch wind of her latest blunder.
“Susan Wild is continuing her habit of attacking her constituents,” Mackenzie wrote on Twitter after seeing Wild’s Facebook comment about the veteran.
“This week, she attacked a veteran after a Memorial Day event, implying that he is somehow bigoted.”
Wild responded to being called out by posting a message on her personal Facebook page accusing Mackenzie and others of turning her “innocuous comments into a divisive political post.”
Her post alleged Mackenzie was “sleazy” for sharing her publicly available comment, and she vowed to block all the two candidates’ mutual Facebook friends.
Ironically, Wild’s message concluded with a famous Maya Angelou line: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”
