Who is Mara Gay?
MARA Gay is a left-wing member of the New York Times editorial board. She caused controversy on social media after she reported what she had seen out of Long Island, New York in an interview with MSNBC panelists. Gay's New York Times editorial focus is on New York State and local affairs. Before coming to The Times in 2018, she was a City Hall reporter at The Wall Street Journal, covering Mayors Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg. Gay has also worked for the New York Daily News, The Atlantic and The Daily. 4 Mara Gay is a New York Times editorial board member Credit: MSNBC  She has a degree in political science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is a New York City native and resides in Brooklyn. Gay is trending after she said that that she was "disturbed" to see "dozens of American flags" flown by Donald Trump supporters during a weekend trip to Long Island, New York. She reported that she had also seen trucks with "expletives" against President Biden plastered on their sides. She described that the flag-flying Trump supporters were sending a clear message: "This is my country  not your country. I own this." "The reality is here that we have a large percentage of the American population  I dont know how big it is, but we have tens of millions of Trump voters who continue to believe that their rights as citizens are under threat by simple virtue of having to share the democracy with others," Gay told MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. 4 Mara Gay discusses Trump supporters on MSNBC Credit: MSNBC  "I think that as long as they see Americanness as the same as one with Whiteness, this is going to continue," Gay said, commenting that "Whiteness" and "Americanness" need to be seperated. "That is the real concern. Because, you know, the Trump voters who are not going to get onboard with democracy, theyre a minority. You can marginalize them, long-term. But if we dont take the threat seriously, then I think were all in really bad shape," she said. Gay's comments divided social media, who took to Twitter to share their outlook. "The people criticizing NYT's Mara Gay's comment re: American Flags on Long Island, are the SAME PEOPLE who had no f****** issue w/ their cult leader sending Domestic Terrorists to the Capitol & replacing the American Flag that was flying there, with a MAGA flag," one wrote. 4 Social media was divided over Mara Gay's MSNBC comments Credit: MSNBC  "Like, Mara Gay, when I see a display of hyper-patriotism I have come to associate it with racism. I can't imagine why!" another said. Writer Charlotte Clymer agreed with Gay's sentiments, commenting: "As a military veteran, I completely agree with Mara Gay. It is disturbing. Large American flags on trucks are performative nonsense that are absolutely intended to communicate that America is a conservative, white country. It's an intentional signal. She's right." Police search for missing mom after son found dead DEFENDING DON Biden DOJ backs Trump in defamation case & says he can't be held responsible HA-HA-RRIS Kamala laughs AGAIN when asked whether she'll visit border to stop surge 'OUT OF CONTROL' Naked woman trashes restaurant before being Tasered in breasts by cops  "I've been around much longer than Mara Gay of the New York Times and I'm white, but I have never associated "Americaness" with "whiteness". In fact, I was taught & experienced just the opposite," one Tweet disagreed. Its you, and your opinions which you can share in @MSNBC."