Rantz: Mayor blasts LGBT activist who insults POWs at Newcastle City Council

In the increasingly unhinged world of left-wing activism, even honoring American veterans is now somehow offensive. But an LGBT activist found out the hard way that you should probably keep your silly thoughts out of Newcastle.

At a recent Newcastle City Council meeting, an LGBTQ activist named Jenn took a moment during public comment to scold the mayor for daring to fly the POW/MIA flag. According to her, honoring those who never returned home from war is a “political stunt.” Why? Because the council didn’t want to fly the pride flag every June.

“My research shows that there have been 82,000 Americans who are registered as POWs or MIAs, which is atrocious and horrible, and it should never happen to any American, but there (are) 20 million minimum LGBTQ members,” Jenn explained.

“I think that your approach to trying to trick people out of having to fly the pride flag in June by making sure that the POW/MIA flag was flown is really disgusting. Again, it is not impartial in any way, and I think that you should be ashamed. I definitely am,” Jenn added.

This, apparently, is what passes for “activism” now: Comparing a flag that honors 82,000 missing or captured American heroes to a politicized symbol of sexual identity. And not just comparing — implying that one deserves more attention simply because they are in greater numbers (while making the remarkably silly comparison between Washington POWs and national LGBT members).

That’s not just narcissistic, it’s grotesque.

“I am pissed!” said the mayor of Newcastle, defending U.S. veterans and expressing his disgust at the comparison between the POW flag and veterans to the LGBTQ+ community and Pride flag.@choeshow @jasonrantz pic.twitter.com/XeOHpTbXVU

— Darren Stott (@thedarrenstott) March 19, 2025

Newcastle mayor wasn’t going to tolerate LGBT activist

Newcastle Mayor Robert Clark wasn’t having it, declaring, “I am pissed!”

After listening patiently (which is considerably more than she deserved), he fired back at Jenn: “I will not sit here and have somebody tell me that veterans are a political stunt … How dare you?”

Exactly.

Clark clapped back, saying he “will not sit here and have somebody tell me that veterans are a political stunt” and said he wouldn’t her “disparage” veterans and go unchallenged.

“This country was founded because veterans lost their lives. Hundreds of thousands of people died for this country so that you could fly your pride flag,” Clark told her.

The activist is the problem, not the POW flag

Jenn’s “disgust” that we fly a flag in their honor, while demanding hers be flown for an entire month, says everything about the modern activist mindset: self-absorbed, historically ignorant, and aggressively entitled.

The pride flag is a symbol of personal identity and political expression. The POW/MIA flag is a somber reminder of human sacrifice. There is no equivalence here.

Mayor Clark said what millions of Americans are thinking: enough is enough. It’s precisely why this moment went viral and gained national attention. We don’t need lectures from activists who think every tradition is oppressive and every symbol must revolve around their personal politics. Flying the POW/MIA flag isn’t exclusionary — it’s patriotic.

If you’re offended by a reminder of the cost of freedom, maybe the problem isn’t the flag. Maybe it’s you.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.

Follow @https://twitter.com/jasonrantz