Calls for Sears, Kmart boycott explode after ‘Ashli Babbitt American Patriot’ shirt goes up for sale



Social media users called for boycotts against Sears and Kmart over the last several days after a shirt depicting slain U.S. Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt as an "American Patriot" was found to be for sale.

The item appears to have been placed up for sale by a third-party merchandiser and not licensed by Sears or Kmart, both of which are owned by Sears Holdings Corporation.

According to a Wednesday report from MarketWatch, the shirts have been available on the sites since January.

What are the details?

The shirt features a battered American flag with Babbitt's name on top of the flag and "American Patriot" emblazoned below the flag.

Its presence on the stores' respective marketplaces drew heavy criticism from social media, with many users calling for a boycott of the stores.

Journalist Aaron Rupar tweeted about the shirt, writing, "@Sears and @Kmart are selling Ashli Babbitt 'American Patriot' shirts[.]"

Rupar's tweet drew thousands of comments, retweets, and calls for boycotts of both stores.

Sears issued a statement announcing that the product was removed from both Sears.com and Kmart.com following the outrage.

The response to Rupar's tweet read, "Thank you for bringing this product to our attention. This item is no longer available for purchase on Sears.com or kmart.com."

@atrupar Thank you for bringing this product to our attention. This item is no longer available for purchase on… https://t.co/ZQJpMcO9hg

— Sears (@Sears) 1625613307.0

What else?

Despite the company ultimately yanking the product from its virtual shelves, social media users continued to call for boycotts of both stores.

Journalist David Leavitt tweeted, "F*** YOU @sears and @kmart for selling shirts that calls the insurrectionist 'Ashli Babbitt American Patriot' Retweet if Sears and Kmart should go out of business."

Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten added, "Welp, no Sears and Kmart for me. Ashli Babbitt was a traitor. Deluded, perhaps. Naive, sure. Stupid, hard to argue. But she stormed the U.S. Capitol, menacing U.S. congresspeople, destroying property, challenging democracy and the rule of law."

Welp, no Sears and Kmart for me. Ashli Babbitt was a traitor. Deluded, perhaps. Naive, sure. Stupid, hard to ar… https://t.co/5tLl2fDASz

— Gene Weingarten (@geneweingarten) 1625621063.0

Writer Tara Dublin tweeted, "Holy Not Okay, @sears & @kmart. I know you cater to the lowest common denominators, but this is abhorrent. Can anyone try to be better, or have we all given up as a society? JFC[.]"

Holy Not Okay, @sears & @kmart. I know you cater to the lowest common denominators, but this is abhorrent. Can anyo… https://t.co/wBOkgpzHGF

— Tara Dublin, Untapped Writing Goldmine #SignTara (@taradublinrocks) 1625610488.0

Another user added, "would say boycott Kmart and Sears but they appear to be going bankrupt plus there are no stores around me so they appear to be boycotting themselves."

"Well, Sears and Kmart just joined Toyota on the boycott list," a clearly angry user tweeted.

Another user — whose Twitter name is "Praise Black Jesus" — added, "Holy f***. This is seriously disturbing. Boycott @Kmart! Boycott @Sears! And boycott @Walmart."

"#boycottSears if you can still find one #boycottkmart if you can still find one Both stores actively support domestic terrorism & we l, the #Resistance will see they shut their doors permanently over this," another user promised.

Babbitt, 35, an Air Force veteran and Trump supporter, was shot by a Capitol Police officer while climbing through a broken window on a door leading to the Speaker's Lobby during the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Ashli Babbitt American Patriot Shirt www.youtube.com

Trump suggests Democrats​ made up Justice Ginsburg's reported dying wish about her replacement



President Donald Trump on Monday questioned the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's reported dying wish that her replacement on the Supreme Court not be nominated by Trump, wondering aloud if her alleged statement was "written by Adam Schiff, Schumer, or Pelosi."

Ginsburg, 87, died Friday evening of complications from a long battle with pancreatic cancer. According to NPR, days before her death, she dictated a statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera, saying, "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."

As Democrats are threatening to impeach President Donald Trump should he move forward with a Supreme Court nomination before the election, the president questioned whether those words were said by Ginsburg or, he suggested, written by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the chairman of House Intelligence Committee and leader of the drive to impeach the president earlier this year, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)

"I don't know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi?" Trump said during an interview on "Fox & Friends."

"I don't know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff & Schumer & Pelosi? I would be more inclined for the second" -- Trump claims Schiff, Schumer, & Pelosi actually wrote RBG's dying statement, & suggests she'd actually be fine w/him nominating her replacement pic.twitter.com/xLQq1csNTz
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 21, 2020

"I would be more inclined to the second. That came out of the wind. It sounds so beautiful, but that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe Pelosi or shifty Schiff ... maybe she did and maybe she didn't," the president continued.

There is no evidence that the Democrats fabricated Ginsburg's statement.

"Look, the bottom line is we won the election," Trump said, adding, "We have an obligation to do what's right and act as quickly as possible."

The president on Monday declared his intention to nominate a judge to the Supreme Court on either Friday or Saturday, after funeral proceedings for Justice Ginsburg have concluded.

Democrats have threatened to restart impeachment proceedings against the president if he moves forward with a nominee. Asked by reporters Sunday evening whether impeachment was under consideration, Senate Minority Leader Schumer nodded in agreement as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said, "We must consider, again, all of the tools available to our disposal, and that all of these options should be entertained and on the table."

Speaker Pelosi also suggested retaliatory impeachment is among Democrats' "options."

"We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now," Pelosi said.

Trump predicts that any impeachment action taken by Democrats will help him win the election.

"I heard if I [nominate], they're going to impeach me," Trump said. "So they're impeaching me for doing what constitutionally I have to do."

"If they do that, we win all elections," he said.

Marco Rubio Apologizes After Tweeting Out Photo Of Elijah Cummings To Commemorate John Lewis

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) apologized after mistakenly tweeting out a photo of himself on Saturday with the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) to commemorate the death of Rep. John Lewis (D-GA). “Earlier today I tweeted an incorrect photo,” a penitent Rubio tweeted. “John Lewis was a genuine American hero I was honored to appear together […]

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) apologized after mistakenly tweeting out a photo of himself on Saturday with the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) to commemorate the death of Rep. John Lewis (D-GA).

“Earlier today I tweeted an incorrect photo,” a penitent Rubio tweeted. “John Lewis was a genuine American hero I was honored to appear together in Miami 3 years ago at an event captured in video below My God grant him eternal rest[.]”

Earlier today I tweeted an incorrect photo

John Lewis was a genuine American hero

I was honored to appear together in Miami 3 years ago at an event captured in video below

My God grant him eternal resthttps://t.co/aEm4MxKxBP pic.twitter.com/0UpWSG3vNQ

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 18, 2020

After taking flak on Twitter for his gaffe that confused the two late civil rights leaders, Rubio deleted the incorrect tweet that he had briefly made into his profile picture.

“It was an honor to know & be blessed to serve in Congress with John Lewis a genuine & historic American hero,” Rubio wrote with a picture of Cummings.

“That is Elijah Cummings,” tweeted Astead Herndon, a reporter for The New York Times, which was a sentiment many others on Twitter reiterated, including Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY).

This is Elijah Cummings https://t.co/y68fbahAJm

— Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) July 18, 2020

.@marcorubio this is a disgrace and as the senior U.S. Senator from your state, you as well as your staff should know the difference between the late Congressman Elijah Cummings and Congressman John Lewis. #DISGRACEFUL… correct it and get it right! https://t.co/nfFwBtBOiN

— Adriano Espaillat (@RepEspaillat) July 18, 2020

Marco Rubio’s tribute to John Lewis obliviously features a photo of him and Elijah Cummings. He even made it his avatar. pic.twitter.com/Go0OtgdvRm

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 18, 2020

That’s the late Elijah Cummings, Senator @marcorubio pic.twitter.com/2bIvwcCGRd

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) July 18, 2020

Rubio spokesman Nick Iacovella blamed the mistake on a photo originally taken for The Philadelphia Inquirer that was mislabeled, according to The New York Times.

Joining Rubio in his gaffe was Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), who posted an image to Facebook of himself with Cummings in front of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History in Washington, D.C.

“America has lost a legend with the passing of Congressman John Lewis, of Georgia,” wrote Sullivan in part, who later deleted the post. “Congressman Lewis’ courage and principled leadership helped guide America through one of the most challenging periods in its history, calling our country to live up to its highest ideals with justice and equality for all people regardless of color or creed.”

According to The New York Times, a spokesman for Sullivan sent out an email that said, “Senator Sullivan’s staff made a mistake trying to honor an American legend.”

Sen. Dan Sullivan joins Sen. Marco Rubio in posting a picture of the late Elijah Cummings in their tribute to civil rights icon John Lewis. pic.twitter.com/EdrUWmKIw7

— Travis Akers (@travisakers) July 18, 2020

Lewis and Cummings were sometimes confused, which led Lewis to release a tongue-in-cheek statement last year announcing he would grow a beard to prevent being confused with his congressional colleague. “Just this weekend, I went to church in Maryland. Someone came up to me and said, ‘Hi, Mr. Cummings! I vote for you all the time,’’’ the statement quoted Lewis in part. “I just said thank you. What else could I say? That’s when I decided, I should just grow a beard.”

“Rep. Lewis’s announcement comes after years of ‘baldist’ press reports that have confused the two famously clean shaven, African-American members of Congress,” the statement continued. “Both are outspoken opponents of the administration and have served in the House more than 53 years combined. To make things even more confusing, Rep. Cummings is chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, while Rep. Lewis chairs the Oversight Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee.”

Lewis died Friday at age 80 after battling pancreatic cancer. He was a major figure of the civil rights movement, participating in lunch counter sit-ins during the 1960s, and was the youngest member of the “Big Six,” a group of leaders who organized Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington in 1963.

RELATED: Congressman John Lewis Dead At 80; Elected Officials Praise His Civil Rights Legacy

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