ADVERTISEMENT

DNC Hires East Village Fire ‘Selfie’ Tourist as New Spokesperson

July 6, 2015

A New York City tourist who sparked national outrage after taking a smiling "selfie" in front of the rubble of the deadly East Village inferno in March is now working as a spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee and criticizing GOP candidates for their social media output.

Christina Freundlich, who previously worked at the Iowa Democratic Party and the Obama campaign, was criticized for posting an online picture of her grinning and flashing a "peace sign" in front of the scene of the fire, which killed two people and injured over two dozen in March. Freundlich apologized after the picture was published by the New York Post and became a national news story.

Freundlich has bounced back from the controversy and has since been hired by the DNC.

On Monday, the DNC press office sent out a statement from Freundlich—identified as "DNC spokesperson"—which blasted Jeb Bush for a Medium post he wrote about President Obama’s economic policies.

"When it comes to talking about the state of the economy, Jeb Bush can’t stop digging up the failed Republican ideas that just won’t die," said Freundlich. "His economic policies outline the same Republican failed policies of the past—signing massive tax breaks that favor the wealthy over the middle class, gutting investments in health care and job training while income inequality in Florida exploded. Here in the living world, President Obama has added 12.8 million private sector jobs over 64 straight months—so instead of frightening voters with the next post-apocalyptic tale about our economy, Jeb needs to stop fleshing out his brother’s failed economic ideas and look out for the middle class for once."

Freundlich lists herself as "Southern Regional Press Secretary" for the DNC on her Twitter page. The DNC did not respond to questions on Monday about when she was hired.