A newly appointed Biden administration official, Tyler Cherry, has addressed resurfaced social media posts in which he compared police to “slave patrols” and expressed support for the anti-Israel movement. Cherry, who recently joined the White House communications team, stated that these tweets were made when he was younger and “do not reflect” his current views.
Background and Content of the Tweets
Cherry’s contentious tweets began to resurface following his recent promotion. Having worked for three years under Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Cherry made these comments during significant events such as the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, a Black man who died in police custody. One tweet from that period read, “Praying for #Baltimore, but praying even harder for an end to a capitalistic police state motivated by explicit and implicit racial biases.”
In another post, Cherry likened the modern police system to “a direct evolution of slave patrols and lynch mobs.” His pro-Palestine stance was also evident in tweets from 2014, including one where he wrote, “Cheersing in bars to ending the occupation of Palestine – no shame and f— your glares #ISupportGaza #FreePalestine.”
Other tweets criticized the Republican Party for focusing on “white grievance politics” and called for the abolition of ICE.
Official response
Cherry addressed these past posts on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Past social media posts from when I was younger do not reflect my current views. Period.” He emphasized his commitment to the administration’s climate and environmental policies.
The White House has defended Cherry’s hiring. Andrew Bates, the White House senior deputy press secretary, told Fox News, “We’re very proud to have Tyler on the team.”
Cherry’s appointment and his past social media activity highlight the ongoing scrutiny and challenges faced by public officials in the digital age.