Denver City Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca was called out on a retweet made on February 28, 2020.
The original Tweet was made by Susan Daniel (@SuePersists) from California. It read: “For the record, if I do get the Coronavirus I’m attending every MAGA rally I can.”
Candi CdeBaca then retweeted this and replied “#solidarity Yaaaas!!” followed by emojis laughing/crying, a pumped fist and an a-okay sign. MAGA stands for Make America Great Again and the rallies draw thousands of Trump supporters to one location. At these events Trump and other Republican candidates campaign and raise enthusiasm and funds for their political futures.
She faced tremendous backlash after this misstep but she has defended her retweet as a sarcastic response to her perception of Trump underplaying the Coronavirus as a “hoax.” She has criticized Trump for him likening Coronavirus to the flu.
She is reproving of the media for dwelling on her comment. She suggests that Republicans stop focusing on her negative words and instead mount a substantial response to Coronavirus. She has not apologized and seemingly sees no need to, despite the negative publicity she garnished.
Critics from both sides of the aisle have criticized this tweet as inappropriate and not justified for any reason. Many have called for her resignation among such a heinous and reprehensible suggestion; any attempt to weaponize Coronavirus politically and joke about bringing harm to humans is not palatable to many regardless of political leanings.
Some have even demanded that this be brought to authorities as a credible threat to the President. Hundreds of phone calls and emails demanding her resignation came flooding into City Hall.
Her spokesperson, Lisa Calderón, said on her behalf, “Rather than conservative outlets making a four-day-old Tweet their focus on Super Tuesday, they should focus their energy on demanding a competent Federal response to this public health crisis instead.”
CdeBaca is a freshman Denver City Council member and a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist. Her political leanings and her role in the Denver City Council have been likened to AOC at the federal level. She has criticized capitalism and free enterprise and she forsees a future of communism/socialism as a more palatable system of operation in the United States. She has her own way of getting her voice heard and has preferred not reach across the aisles or compromise.
She has a strong history in Denver and was the first to graduate high school in her family. She grew up in a single parent family until at one point she was given over to grandmothers when her mother lost both of her legs to amputation.
She is a staunch proponent of giving kids a stable residence based on her experiences growing up. She has also worked over a decade as an advocate for children receiving a solid education regardless of class or ethnicity. She was valedictorian of her high school, received her bachelor degree in sociology at the University of Denver and was the youngest person to graduate the Graduate School of Social Work’s dual degree program also at DU.
