The City of Orlando issued an apology for an Independence Day message saying that “we can’t blame them” if there were residents of their city who felt there was not much to celebrate. The city posted the original announcement to Twitter but has since deleted it and replaced it with an apology.
The apology stated that they “understand these words offended some” who read it.
“The City of Orlando sincerely regrets the negative impact our words have had on some in our community,” the official statement read. “We understand these words offended some of our residents, which was not our intent. We value the freedoms we have in this country and are thankful to the men and women who have fought and continue to fight for those. We take pride in celebrating the 4th of July to express our gratitude to those men and women and honor the country we live in.”
A statement from the City of Orlando pic.twitter.com/CbCcOOCATz
— City of Orlando (@citybeautiful) July 2, 2022
The original statement garnered outrage from across the country for its flippant attitude toward Independence Day weekend.
“A lot of people probably don’t want to celebrate our nation right now, and we can’t blame them,” the original statement read. “When there is so much division, hate and unrest, why on earth would you want to have a party celebrating any of it? But in all seriousness, you know in your heart, Fourth of July fireworks are amazing, especially when you are standing in 90-degree heat, 100% humidity, next to 100,000 of your closest friends. In that moment, something takes over and we all become united in an inexplicable bond. Yes, America is in strife right now, but you know what … we already bought the fireworks.”
Christina Pushaw, the press secretary for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, posted the message to Twitter with her addendum that said, “Yikes. City of Orlando, is this your official position on our country and on 4th of July? @citybeautiful.”
Yikes. City of Orlando, is this your official position on our country and on 4th of July? @citybeautiful pic.twitter.com/DJBfaJBGxC
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) July 3, 2022
Progressives on Twitter took to the newest update to say that the city had the correct perspective the first time, including State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando). She endorsed the original message and said the city shouldn’t have felt like they needed to apologize.
The City of Orlando is no stranger to left-leaning politics, including Mayor Buddy Dyer, who allocated thousands of taxpayer dollars to go to “Drag Queen Story Hour” for children.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
