Memo to the dead legacy media: We are not doing this again.
In their never-ending, futile effort to manufacture outrage about anything that the Trump administration does, the journos are now reduced to dusting off years-old 'controversies' that have long been debunked.
Earlier today, USA Today 'Congressional reporter,' Zach Schermele, thought he had a real scandal going when someone sent him a picture of a flag outside the office of a Department of Education official.
And what a scoop it was! It was the infamous 'white Christian nationalist' Appeal to Heaven flag!
(Yes, we are rolling our eyes right along with our readers.)
NEW: A controversial Christian nationalist flag is hanging outside the D.C. office of a top Education Department official, the agency's union and an employee who has observed it firsthand told me.
— Zach Schermele (@ZachSchermele) December 15, 2025
The flag, which was raised by rioters during the Jan. 6 insurrection, is adorning… pic.twitter.com/fCt4mievI2
... s adorning the office of Murray Bessette, principal deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.
The "Appeal to Heaven" flag is the same that was flown outside the vacation home of conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in 2023, according to the NYT.
(photo via @WashProbs, which first shared the news)
Oh, nooooooooes!
Not a flag that dates back to General George Washington, the Continental Navy, and has even been flown outside of government offices in San Francisco!
Anything but that!
Yawn.
What makes Schermele's attempt to muckrake here is that this isn't even the first time, or the second time, that the 'controversy' has been debunked. The media tried to make this a scandal when Justice Samuel Alito's wife flew the flag outside the couple's beach home in 2024. Everyone mocked them for it then. Then, a full year later, Wired magazine tried to dredge it up again, only to get ratioed into oblivion.
You won't need to guess what happened to Schermele.
We’re not doing this again. We’re not letting leftist media ignorance of American history demonize a patriotic flag dating back to the Revolutionary War and the Continental Navy.
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) December 15, 2025
Proud to have it outside my office! https://t.co/Jy8B8fpc2m pic.twitter.com/MFtTo5A8t6
No, we are NOT doing it again.
Hilariously, however, Schermele tried to double down on his post.
— Zach Schermele (@ZachSchermele) December 15, 2025
Really? Citing Wikipedia as his justification?
Oh, honey ...
Did ... did .... did you just try to save yourself by citing WIKIPEDIA? How are you employed? Like, seriously. How?
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) December 16, 2025
We have no idea.
But it will not surprise anyone to learn that Schemele is barely out of college and has no knowledge of history.
“6yo threatened by tree flag,” sounds like a boring story. Pass pic.twitter.com/toeRP3JNQb
— Sean Kyzar (@skyzarbiker) December 15, 2025
Schermele received his degree in Political Science just two years ago. From Columbia University.
Because, of course, he did.
When I was an editor I'd instantly fire any reporter stupid enough to use Wikipedia as a source.
— Managing Decline (@cehoskinson) December 15, 2025
Your editor should do the same.
If USA Today had any editors worthy of the title, they would fire him as well.
But we doubt any editors exist at the newspaper best known for being abandoned and unread on hotel room floors.
What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I… pic.twitter.com/G9CF10qrSK
— Enguerrand VII de Coucy (@ingelramdecoucy) December 15, 2025
Schermele earned that meme, along with his ratio.
You are a moron and a historical illiterate. https://t.co/dHe4cgqwUF
— @instapundit (@instapundit) December 15, 2025
*Laughs in literally every episode of HBOs John Adams* https://t.co/1qIoxi4Sme pic.twitter.com/m3XAo7Upt3
— Prison Mitch (@Prisonmitch) December 15, 2025
Well, we all know that HBO is a bastion of right-wing Christian nationalism. Just like, umm, San Francisco.
LOL.
Not only was the Pine Tree flag commissioned by George Washington; its phrase, “an appeal to heaven,” comes from John Locke’s Second Treatise, the founding text of political liberalism. https://t.co/4KYqopJBaM
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) December 16, 2025
The thing about today's 'liberals' is that they are not liberal at all. They're just leftists.
Pretty stupid ones at that, regardless of their degrees.
Any word yet if there are survivors?
— 🫃🏼💉🇺🇦🥥Hollaria Briden, Esq. (@HollyBriden) December 15, 2025
HAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
We're so sorry this happened to Schermele.
Are we purity testing flags now? pic.twitter.com/FUqv6PNb3c
— Kane 謝凱堯 (@kane) December 15, 2025
Say, Schermele went to Columbia and was there in 2023, so he should be quite familiar with that flag.
We wonder if he thinks that one is controversial, too.
Journalists are going to call most flags at the Semiquincentennial "white nationalist" because they are genuinely stupid and bad people.
— EJ (@Ejmiller25) December 15, 2025
Don't be like Shermele https://t.co/oajwRqNkHr
Oh, we can't wait for the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth from the lefty journos all next year during America's 250th anniversary.
The tears will be flowing hard for 12 straight months.
https://t.co/fU9TiNzkzR pic.twitter.com/wrE5VQC99c
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) December 15, 2025
That post sure does come in handy.
Except in Schermele's case, we don't think he's pretending. He's just that ignorant.
— Julie Gunlock (@JGunlock) December 15, 2025
It's beyond tiresome at this point.
"iNsUrReCtiOn!!!"
— Safing Sector (@Gplavallee72) December 15, 2025
🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/WzizcvfqF0
Yes, we noticed that he used the 'I' word, too.
Which, frankly, is just being lazy in 2025.
Weak. Fail. pic.twitter.com/0hfb8cOB7e
— Elon Made Me Join (@ElonJoin839) December 15, 2025
He absolutely deserved every bit of it.
An honest reporter would have learned his lesson and apologized for the tweet.
Schermele, on the other hand, TRIPLED down on his ignorance and wrote a story about it for USA Today. And they PUBLISHED it.
Flag linked to Christian nationalism, Jan. 6 hung at Education Dept.https://t.co/M09yfxqGf6
— Zach Schermele (@ZachSchermele) December 15, 2025
This is why we can never hate the legacy media enough.
So you doubled down on stupidity after getting ratioed into the sun last time?
— History-Actual (@T00ManyCommies) December 15, 2025
It was a bold strategy, alright.
But it didn't work out so well for him.
— Brittany Hughes (@RealBrittHughes) December 16, 2025
Thank you, Hermione.
You said what everyone is thinking.
***** UPDATE *****
Overnight, Schermele deleted his tweet, but, in true journo fashion, he did not apologize for getting everything wrong. He tried to double down AGAIN by providing 'context.'
And, of course, he locked down replies.
Deleted my initial tweet. This flag is more accurately described as a “symbol associated with Christian nationalism." ⁰⁰Please read our full story with the relevant context here: https://t.co/M09yfxqGf6 pic.twitter.com/IBcXCim0GC
— Zach Schermele (@ZachSchermele) December 16, 2025
Someone should probably tell him that turning off replies does not save you from the ratio. Randi Weingarten and Hillary Clinton could help him out there.
“Reporter” got ratio'd to hell and back for his brainwormed attempt to rewrite history and cancel someone in the admin.
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) December 16, 2025
So he deletes the original post, reposts screenshot amended with nonsense “correction” and locks replies.
Very Serious Journalisming here @USATODAY https://t.co/4oe9Fqs3Vg
This partisan journalist @ZachSchermele needs to pretend the flag was created in 2013 to sell his slanted hit job, ignoring it is a centuries old historical symbol.
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) December 16, 2025
The lack of intellectual heft from our press industry continues to be shameful. https://t.co/vRH4eYhIb4
Shameful, indeed.
Keep digging, Zach.
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