NJ gubernatorial candidate claims grandpa flew ‘B-52’ during WWII

A day after Rep. Mikie Sherrill (DN.J.) announced her candidacy to run for governor of New Jersey, she shared details about herself at X to New Jersey voters. One of her posts was likely intended to highlight her past military service as well as her grandfather’s – however it may have failed due to a not-so-minor gaffe when she misidentified a Cold War-era bomber as being in service during of the Second World War.

Sherrill, who was among the first female flight school graduates from the Naval Academy eligible for direct commission to fly fighter jets, said she was inspired by her grandfather, who was a pilot for the U.S. Air Force during World War II. World War. .

He went on to serve nine years in the United States Navy, later attended law school and was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018.

It made sense to remind voters of her past service and what inspired her when she shared a photo of her grandfather on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, with the caption, “My grandfather, Bill, was a B-52 bomber pilot in WWII and flew missions over occupied France Shot down and rescued by the Free French After hearing his stories as a child, it became my dream to fly, just like him.

Great story… With one problem

Almost immediately after Sherrill’s post went public, users on X responded and quickly noted that the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress was developed after World War II and entered service with the US Air Force as recently as 1955. The B-52 remains the backbone of the Air Force’s bomber fleet — and current plans call for it to remain in service until the end of the decade of 2040.

Sherrill later clarified her post, writing, “Sorry guys, a typo after a long day! He was a B-24 pilot and his service continues to inspire me every day.”

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was the most produced heavy bomber of World War II, with approximately 18,500 built during World War II. He was one of the US Army bombers.

Post-truth era

Typos and mistakes are certainly common on social media, but Sherrill got almost as many errors from other users on X as her grandfather did on his Liberator. And while the literal flak led to her grandfather being shot, the proverbial flak certainly reminds us that political candidates should expect a long campaign where such mistakes can be hard to overcome.

“We live in a ‘post-truth era,’ but everything we post online can also be quickly scrutinized and scrutinized,” explained social media analyst and brand marketing expert Scott Steinberg.

“There remains the thought that no press is a bad press, but ultimately this was not a good look for a US military veteran and certainly not a good way to start a political campaign,” Steinberg said. “Coming out of the 2024 race, we saw that some voters may not care about the facts, but the response Sherrill received suggests she is firmly in the crosshairs in this race.”

This one post also overshadowed many of the others highlighting her career and military service.

“The problem with the information age is that we all pick up on the most polite nonsense when someone is talking off the cuff,” said Susan Campbell, a distinguished lecturer in the Department of Communication, Film and Media Studies at the University of New Haven. . “Misspeaking is not the same as lying, and I hope we all still have enough humanity to give secondary banter a pass.”

Mistakes will be made

This should also serve as a reminder to everyone, but especially politicians who may be seeking to curry favor with voters, to be extra careful when using social media as a campaign tool. Instead of connecting with voters in the Garden State, the involvement of military aircraft allowed any aviation insider to enter the conversation.

The same thing happened to President-elect Donald Trump in August when he claimed the US Air Force was operating the “F-32 fighter jet” while he probably meant the F-22 Raptor. It’s probably impossible for everyone to remember such details—even an ex-military pilot—but in the age of social media, even seemingly small mistakes will quickly be noticed.

“The great irony is that social media encourages us to contribute these kinds of personal stories,” Steinberg said. “But when we don’t need a few extra seconds and are too quick to post, we can create a mess that’s almost impossible to clean up. We all go off the cuff sometimes, but that’s not acceptable for a politician today. This just gave ammunition. to her critics”.