Republican Florida Sen. Mario Rubio received backlash over the weekend for posting a photo of himself with Rep. Elijah Cummings while including with it a tribute to Rep. John Lewis.
He later deleted the tweet and posted another second one, with a photo of himself and Lewis.
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
Lewis died on Friday at the age of 80, following a decades-long career as a congressman and civil rights icon.
60 Minutes’ “60 in 6” correspondent Wesley Lowery tweeted in response to Rubio’s original message:
Wrong black guy pic.twitter.com/qYnWSuw177
— Wesley (@WesleyLowery) July 18, 2020
“This is beyond parody,” wrote Jessy Han.
Marco Rubio posted a photo of himself with Elijah Cummings and made it his profile picture while honoring John Lewis. This is beyond parody. pic.twitter.com/4FW09YECbn
— Jessy Han (@hjessy_) July 18, 2020
Additionally, Twitter users posted screenshots of the original message after Rubio deleted it, noting the delay in a change to the senator’s profile picture.
Marco Rubio posted a photo of Elijah Cummings instead of John Lewis AND THEN MADE IT HIS PROFILE PICTURE pic.twitter.com/Q0XF6ijG5L
— Cope (@cxcope) July 18, 2020
In acknowledging the mistake, Rubio did not offer an apology for it.
Cummings passed away in October of last year.