While some NBA teams are refusing to stay in hotels affiliated with President-elect Donald Trump‘s real estate empire, the Republican nominee’s influence on American politics (and the world) is becoming all too clear. After all, it was his presidential campaign and the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom that inspired Oxford Dictionaries to select “post-truth” as its word of the year. So of course New York, the city he calls home, has become ground zero for supporters and detractors alike.
Like the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), which allegedly sent a memo out this week banning any and all photos or likenesses of Trump from being used to decorate official facilities, vehicles or gear. According to the New York Post, many in the department aren’t happy with the decision. “They have pictures of… George Bush standing on the World Trade Center pile with a megaphone,” an anonymous firefighter told the Post. “FDNY posts pictures all the time. When Barack Obama visits firehouses, FDNY officially posts photos of him shaking hands, people smiling — no problem there.”
The Post published the supposed memo in full:
To: All Units
Today I received a call from Boro and Division in regards to material posted about election.
One unit was driving around with mask of Trump on front of rig and they had another complaint about material posted in Firehouse.
Posting of these materials is not in compliance with Regs. Please make sure apparatus and quarters are clear of this material. We do not want to see anyone get in trouble for this.
As for the incident involving the Trump mask, the Post discovered Brooklyn’s Engine 276 “was driving around with a Trump mask on its grille.” This resulted in several complaints, which ended in the department-wide memo. Whether the complaints were from fellow firefighters, passersby who saw the truck, or both remains unclear.
Department spokesperson Jim Long said the message was meant to be apolitical, as FDNY wanted its employees “to remain out of the political scene and out of the political field.” Meanwhile, it seems Brooklyn residents have a new, ultra conservative enemy in their midst — firetrucks adorned with Trump’s face. To be honest that’s probably one of the most frightening things imaginable right now.
(Via New York Post)