Really, C-SPAN?
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., called out the public affairs network for misidentifying him as Rep. Mondaire Jones, a fellow New York Democrat, during a Wednesday debate in the House of Representatives. Both congressmen are Black.
“I’ve got love for @RepMondaire but I’m Rep. Jamaal Bowman,” Bowman tweeted. “I’m here to do my job, @cspan. Please, do yours.”
His post included a screenshot of C-SPAN’s live feed of the debate over the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package.
The screenshot shows Bowman, who represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester, being identified as Jones, whose districts covers a swath of mostly suburban areas north of Bowman’s.
Jones returned the favor by praising Bowman as an “exemplary public servant.”
“I am not, in fact, Congressman Bowman,” he tweeted.
C-SPAN apologized for the mix-up, but appeared to avoid taking direct responsibility.
“Mistakes were clearly made. Sincere apologies to both representatives,” the nonprofit network’s media office tweeted in response to Bowman’s post.
Bowman and Jones both made history as upstart insurgent candidates who swept into office last year. Bowman defeated longtime Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel in a heated primary while Jones bested a crowded field to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Nita Lowey.
But the two men bear no resemblance to one another. Bowman is 44, bald and married with three children. Jones is 33, with a full head of hair.
