Republican Doug Mastriano Mocked for Mistaking Star Wars Prop for Real Drone Threat
(Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)
Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-PA) faced widespread mockery after mistaking a “Star Wars” prop for one of the mysterious drones causing alarm along the eastern seaboard. The Biden administration has attributed the sightings to “a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones,” along with more mundane explanations like “fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and even stars.”
Despite this, some Republican lawmakers have escalated concerns, floating far-fetched theories involving alien invasions and foreign attacks. Mastriano took to X (formerly Twitter) to criticize the administration’s response, invoking the Chinese surveillance balloon incident from last year.
“It is inconceivable that the federal government has no answers nor has taken any action to get to the bottom of the unidentified drones,” Mastriano posted. “The fecklessness of this administration was on display last year when a Chinese surveillance balloon was allowed to fly over the entire continental United States before being shot down.”
He continued, “Such should be viewed as a threat to our nation and citizens and action is long overdue. We have resources and assets in our arsenal to get answers, but I suppose Ukraine is more important to the White House. January 20th can’t come soon enough.”
They're not sending their best
— Robert Maguire (@robertmaguire.bsky.social) December 17, 2024 at 7:15 PM
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However, Mastriano’s credibility quickly unraveled when social media users noticed the image he attached as “evidence” resembled a Tie Fighter — an iconic spaceship prop from the “Star Wars” films. The post claimed the “drone” had been retrieved from water near Orange Beach, presumably in Alabama.
Elon Musk’s X platform added a fact-check to the post, confirming the object was indeed a Tie Fighter prop. The internet wasted no time piling on the ridicule. “They’re not sending their best,” quipped Robert McGuire, vice president for data and research at Bluesky.
Reaching new levels of psychosis out there.
— Matthew Gertz (@mattgertz.bsky.social) December 17, 2024 at 7:20 PM
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Writer Sam Thielman added, “I don’t want to discount greed and bigotry but a lot of it is that they’re just really f—ing stupid.” Matt Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Matters, chimed in, saying, “Reaching new levels of psychosis out there.”
Jack Jenkins, a reporter for Religion News Service, shared his disbelief: “If it isn’t [a joke]… Doug Mastriano genuinely not recognizing a Tie Fighter — an object from one of the most popular film franchises in human history — might be the thing that finally breaks me.”
Social media users kept the mockery flowing. “Mastriano is the JarJar Binks of the Senate,” joked Bluesky user Eric Blanchard, while another remarked, “I guess it’s not a galaxy far, far away.” The incident turned Mastriano’s attempt to sound an alarm into yet another viral example of political missteps in the digital age.
Mastriano is the JarJar Binks of the Senate
— Eric Thee Blanchard (@ericblanchard.bsky.social) December 17, 2024 at 8:32 PM
