Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called out Democrats for their silence about anti-ICE protestors taking down the American flag at a Colorado ICE facility and replacing it with the Mexican flag.
"There are no words for why the Democrats are staying silent on this. If this is your way to winning an election, fire your strategist," Haley said in a tweet, "This is disgusting. Love your country. And if you don't like what is happening then tell the members of Congress to get to work and fix it."
There are no words for why the Democrats are staying silent on this. If this is your way to winning an election, fire your strategist. This is disgusting. Love your country. And if you don’t like what is happening then tell the members of Congress to get to work and fix it. https://t.co/lHYQSHnNup
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) July 14, 2019
Protestors also removed a "Blue Lives Matter" flag, spray painting it with the phrase "Abolish ICE" before raising it again upside-down next to the Mexican flag.
Colorado governor Jared Polis was the first prominent Democrat to weigh in on the incident, using his condemnation to pivot to the situation at the border, tweeting, "Of course I condemn the desecration of our flag, who wouldn't? Now will you condemn the ongoing and even more serious offense to our flag and values of putting children in cages and tearing families apart?"
Former Colorado governor and 2020 presidential candidate John Hickenlooper was asked about the incident in an appearance on Fox News on Monday.
"I certainly respect the American flag," Hickenlooper said, adding, "The amazing thing about this country is we are the one place on Earth, or one of the few places on Earth, where that level of freedom of speech is still protected so I may not approve of it, but I think that that freedom is something we as Americans should recognize and say, 'Hey, that's part of our core freedom.'"
Rep. Seth Moulton (D., Mass.), another 2020 candidate, also used the issue to pivot, responding to Haley by tweeting, "I love America, fought for our flag, and never want to see it torn down. Now do the president's tweets."