Whistling Dixie? Trump-Backed Gov. Candidate Doug Mastriano Posed in Confederate Garb
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Doug Mastriano likes to dress up — as a soldier for the Confederate army, which fought to preserve slavery in the Civil War.
Trump’s choice to be governor of Pennsylvania, in a photograph obtained by the new agency Reuters, can be seen wearing the gray uniform of the secessionist military that took up arms to destroy the United States of America.
More from Rolling Stone
Ron DeSantis Plays the Tired Hits at Doug Mastriano Rally, But Barely Mentions His Name
Ban Gay Marriage, Deport Dreamers: Doug Mastriano's Extreme Views Caught on Tape
Trump-Endorsed Candidate Appears to Be Paying for Followers on Extremist Platform
The photograph dates from the 2013-14 school year when Mastriano taught at the prestigious Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Mastriano, then a colonel and an instructor in the Department of Military Strategy, Plans, and Operations, posed for a group photo with other faculty members.
Staff were reportedly invited to dress, if they wished, as an historical figure. Only a handful of the 21 faculty in the picture chose any sort of costume. Mastriano was alone in dressing as a militant for the Confederacy.
Mastriano now serves the Gettysburg area in the state Senate. Pennsylvania was, of course, part of the Union during the Civil War, and Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest single battle of the war and is seen as a turning point in the defeat of the South.
Mastriano did not immediately return a request for comment to explain where he came by the Confederate outfit or why he thought it appropriate to dress as a soldier for the disgraced losing side of the Civil War.
The release of the photo adds to a troubling pattern of extremism by Mastriano, who participated in the events of Jan. 6 (reportedly crossing police lines), and has said he does not believe Islam is compatible with the constitution, because, “Not all religions are created equal.”
The photograph had reportedly been hiding in plain sight, posted on the wall of a barracks in Carlisle — despite a de facto prohibition by the military on displaying Confederate imagery since the uprising after the murder of George Floyd. The Army told Reuters that the photograph has been removed “because it does not meet AWC values.”
Best of Rolling Stone
