Politicians are known to be forgetful. They’re especially good at forgetting campaign promises. If they don’t have a teleprompter, they’re likely to flub and forget parts of speeches, but forget the Pledge of Allegiance?
Republican lawmakers have long supported requiring students in K-12 public schools to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Americans learn the pledge when they’re children.
So, it’s especially strange that MAGA New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis was unable to recite the pledge during a recent event at the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute.
The MAGA world has fixated on all things patriotic in recent years, worshipping President Donald Trump, who loves symbols of American power and likes to use them to his own advantage, including flags, bald eagles and of course the Pledge of Allegiance.
Embarrassingly, Malliotakis seemed to forget parts of the pledge, and then, toward the end, when it was clear she couldn’t remember the phrase “with liberty and justice for all,” she simply gave up and walked off the stage.
Social media had a field day.
“Let’s play ‘What If A Democrat Did This’? It would be talked about on Fox News for at least a week,” Dave Strong said on X.
Hundreds of people commented on TikTok, too. “Conveniently forgets… And justice for all,” one user observed.
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Another called it a “Freudian slip.”
Social media seemed to fixate on the part of the pledge she forgot.
“Wow, what a disgrace. How she decided to skirt ‘and justice for all’ is so intentional!” this Reddit user wrote.
And this Reddit post from a Malliotakis constituent. “That’s my congresswoman! When I emailed her about the USAID cuts, I got a response about how $30k was spent on transgender comic books in Chile or something. What about the other millions of dollars, Nicole??? She also refuses to host a town hall and face her constituents. She’s dishonest and has no shame.”
The Hill reported 47 states require students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, with some exemptions for those who do not want to say it. In a 1943 Supreme Court case, justices determined that no school or government can compel someone to recite the Pledge of Allegiance or salute the flag.
However, states can still require it while offering exemptions, according to the Hill. And there are different levels of exemption. Florida and Texas, for example, only allow student exemptions if parents sign off on them.
