‘Traitors’: Ariz. Republican slams Cleveland Indians for name change, praises Confederate generals

Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers was condemned by critics as racist after the Republican posted on social media Friday about liking two Confederate generals who fought against the U.S. to preserve slavery.

Ms. Rogers, a U.S. Air Force veteran elected to office in 2020, showed her support for Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson first on Twitter and then on other social networks.

In the same post, Ms. Rogers also said that she liked “Indians” and “Redskins,” likely referring to professional sports franchises that have recently faced pressure to drop racist names and mascots.

Ms. Rogers also said in the same post that she liked Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben, two food brands that sold products for decades using Black mascots based on racial stereotypes before rebranding in 2020.

“I like Indians and I like Redskins. I like Aunt Jemima and I like Uncle Ben. I like Robert E Lee and I like Stonewall Jackson. I don’t like traitors who hate America. Stand up for our culture!” she wrote.

Ms. Rogers was accordingly ripped as racist by several other verified Twitter users, and many people on the platform were quick to call out the Republican for contradicting herself seemingly unaware of it.

“You can like Lee and Jackson or you can hate traitors to America, but you can’t do both,” replied Kevin M. Kruse, a historian and professor of history at Princeton University.

“Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson led an insurrection to preserve slavery. Pretty sure that meets the definition of traitor,” agreed Andrew Weinstein, current co-chair of the Democratic Lawyers Council.

Several elected officials, including some Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, weighed in on Twitter as well on the Republican state senator’s remarks.

“I mean the fact that you decided to declare yourself as both a racist and a traitor in one tweet is kind of impressive,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona Democrat. “Sad part is that you are likely the future of the Republican Party.”

“She likes racial stereotyping and racist traitors who fought the U.S.,” reacted Rep. Eric Swalwell of California. “Is anyone surprised?” he tweeted.

Ms. Rogers has represented Arizona’s District 6 in the state Senate since January after having defeated her Democratic rival in the race by a margin of under 10 percentage points. She previously called Lee a “great patriot and a great leader.”

She made her latest remarks on Twitter several hours after the Cleveland Indians professional baseball team announced that it will be changing its name to the Cleveland Guardians.