SC House candidate tweets meme equating Trump hats to Confederate and Nazi flags
The Democratic candidate for a local South Carolina House of Representatives seat, Dr. Bruce Fischer, re-tweeted a meme on Friday that compared President Donald Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” hats to the Nazi flag and the Confederate Army flag.
The meme, originally posted by Twitter user @jessy_genie around 2 a.m. Friday morning, was re-tweeted, or shared, by the Twitter account used for Fischer’s campaign sometime after that. The meme is critical of Trump and his campaign’s bright red “MAGA” hats, equating them to other symbols of hate in recent history.
Next to an image of a Confederate Army flag, the meme states: “19th century symbol of hatred and bigotry.”
Next to an image of a Nazi flag, the meme states: “20th century symbol of hatred and bigotry.”
And next to an image of one of the Trump campaign’s MAGA hats, the meme states: “21st century symbol of hatred and bigotry.”
Reached by The Sun News via phone and asked about why his campaign account shared the meme, Fischer said, “Well, I’d rather not comment on that right now, thank you very much. Goodbye,” before ending the phone call.
Fischer, a Democrat, is running to unseat Rep. Tim McGinnis, a Republican in the state’s 56th house district, which includes parts of Myrtle Beach, Carolina Forest, Conway and Longs. In the June primary, Fischer ran unopposed to become his party’s nominee. The general election will be held Nov. 3.
An Army veteran of the Vietnam War, Fischer returned from combat and earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Stony Brook University in New York. He spent his careers as a practicing psychiatrist in both New York and South Carolina, in both private practice and working for several large hospital systems. Fischer, born in New York, moved to South Carolina 11 years ago and lives in Longs.
Fischer’s re-tweet of the anti-Trump meme on Friday is not the first time he’s spoken out against the President on Twitter. Using the same account, Fischer has previously called Trump’s comments racist.
In June 2019, in response to a comment from Trump in which the president seemingly told four U.S. Congresswomen to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” Fischer responded: “What Trump said was racist. End of sentence.”
Similarly, in a December 2019 tweet, Fischer criticized former S.C. Governor Nikki Haley for saying Dylann Roof “hijacked” the Confederate flag and turned it into a symbol of hate.
“Insinuating that Dylan Roof was the start of using the Confederate flag with racist intent is insulting and tone deaf,” Fischer responded to news of Haley’s comments.
More recently, Fischer has criticized Trump and his administration on other issues. In late March, Fischer posted a tweet criticizing the Trump administration for cutting funding to the Special Olympics.
“What the hell is wrong with [Secretary of Education Betsy] Devos/Trump, to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics????? How low can they go?” Fischer wrote. “This is the lowest of the low. I am done giving these people ANY respect, or consideration. They are evil.”
After intense criticism of his decision to cut funding for the Special Olympics, the Trump administration reversed course and restored the funding.
In August, Fischer struck a more even-keeled tone in his criticism of Trump. Responding to a video the President posted that urged college football teams to play during the COVID-19 pandemic with the message “we want to play,” Fischer tweeted that the pandemic was too big of a concern to allow the athletes to play.
“While the president focuses on college football, there is a global pandemic upon us and it is STILL a national crisis after months of countless American lives dying because of a lack of leadership,” Fischer wrote. “We must do better.”
At this point, it is unclear if Fischer’s more intense criticism of Trump will impact his race. Phone calls and text messages requesting comment on Fischer’s tweet to both the Horry County Republican Party and the Horry County Democratic Party were not immediately returned.
This story was originally published October 9, 2020 at 2:27 PM.