Media touts progressive compassion for migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, NPR, and New York Magazine were just some of the few that touted the community response in Massachusetts.
Following Ron DeSantis’ move to send migrants to the luxurious Massachusetts community of Martha’s Vineyard, the liberal media boasted about the compassion progressive residents showed for their new arrivals, and claimed that the plan backfired on the Florida governor.
"After migrants arrived in Martha's Vineyard, a community gathered to welcome them," NPR’s Jonathan Franklin wrote Friday, the same week the community called the situation a "humanitarian crisis." Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, R., deployed the National Guard as well.
Left-wing writer Jonathan Chait noted the community reaction to the migrants’ arrival, while also throwing shade at DeSantis.
A man, who is part of a group of immigrants that had just arrived, flashes a thumbs up Wednesday Sept. 14, 2022, in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard. (Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette via AP)
"DeSantis Tries to Prove Liberals Hate Immigrants As Much As He Does, Fails," said the headline for Chait's New York magazine article, likening the move by DeSantis to the actions of the White Citizens Councils in the 1960s.
"It’s not just that DeSantis stole the idea from [Texas Gov. Greg] Abbott. The idea was employed even earlier by White Citizens Councils in the 1960s, which — much like DeSantis — lured Black people onto buses with promises of jobs and then deposited them in the North," Chait wrote.
Chait wrote the actions of the White Citizens Council was meant to show how "hypocritical" northeast liberals pretended to care about the rights of Black Americans living in the South. He cited DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw, who tweeted Wednesday, "Martha’s Vineyard residents should be thrilled about this. They vote for sanctuary cities — they get a sanctuary city of their own. And illegal aliens will increase the town’s diversity, which is strength. Right?"
"What actually occurred was the opposite of Pushaw’s prediction. When the news of the stunt broke, volunteers at Martha’s Vineyard rushed out with pizza, salad, and soup," Chait wrote.
Immigrants gather with their belongings outside St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Wednesday Sept. 14, 2022, in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard. (Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette via AP)
"Donations poured in and volunteers who rushed to help: Here’s how Martha’s Vineyard communities responded to the arrival of migrants," a CNN headline announced.
"In the hours after roughly 50 migrants touched down on Martha’s Vineyard in two planes sent by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the island’s community – still jarred by the unexpected arrival – rushed to help the newcomers," Miguel Marquez and Christina Maxouris began the piece.
Discussions of the response by Martha’s Vineyard continued over on MSNBC, where "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough spoke with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Scarborough, who called DeSantis’ move "political human trafficking," suggested his stunt backfired.
"Migrants who are already suffering, who are trying to figure out the best way forward, who are fleeing terrible situations, are being used as political props to own the libs and be treated horrible, and they wind up, actually in a place like Martha’s Vineyard, and what happens? The doors of the churches fly open, the doors of the community hall fly open, and the people of Martha’s Vineyard are so grateful to be able to lend a helping hand," Scarborough said as Clinton laughed.
Far-left MSNBC host Joy Reid also boasted about Martha’s Vineyard’s response to the migrants, arguing that the little island was the place to find "Christian love."
A Venezuelan migrant is led onto a bus at St. Andrews Episcopal Church on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, in Edgartown, Massachusetts, on the island of Marthaâs Vineyard. A group of migrants was flown to the island from Texas earlier this week, leaving them stranded. They are here being transferred to a Cape Cod military base. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
"Local authorities rushed in to help feed these people and find them temporary housing, and today, community leaders are working to get immigration lawyers to the island. It turns out that the place to find Christian love is in the supposedly godless woke scape of Martha’s Vineyard, where actually decent people, Jews, Muslims, people with no religion at all, stepped up, while for DeSantis, the cruelty is the point," Reid said.
Left-wing CBS "Late Night" host Stephen Colbert also discussed the breaking story with his own dash of political comedy, beginning his Thursday monologue by joking that DeSantis had an "odd way" of celebrating Hispanic Heritage month. As Colbert flashed a picture of him on screen, the audience booed.
Colbert read off a tweet from Martha’s Vineyard resident Dylan Fernandes, who noted that the island "jumped into action" and was a community that "comes together to support immigrants."
"Yeah, Desantis owned those libs by making them look compassionate," Colbert sarcastically quipped. "Just like that cuck Jesus. Send that guy a truckload of lepers, see how he likes it."
The move by DeSantis has infuriated Democrats and is similar to one by Abbott, who has bussed migrants to Chicago, Washington D.C., and New York City in an effort to bring attention to the ongoing border crisis.
Despite the immediate show of support from the residents of Martha’s Vineyard, local homeless coordinator Lisa Belcastro said the island simply does not have the resources to help the migrants long-term, and they would eventually have to travel "somewhere else."
DeSantis said the negative reaction to the migrants being sent there in the first place showed liberal "virtue signaling" on the issue was a "fraud."
The 50 migrants on the island are already being shipped off. Massachusetts authorities said Friday that they would be moved from Martha’s Vineyard to a military base in Cape Cod, where they will meet with lawyers and be provided resources to figure out next steps.
Fox News' Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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