Mom Who Challenged Amanda Gorman Poem Makes a Bizarre Apology

The lone Florida parent who successfully campaigned to restrict elementary students’ access to Amanda Gorman’s inauguration poem issued a bizarre apology Wednesday for her antisemitic Facebook posts. As The Daily Beast reported Thursday, the woman, Daily Salinas, posted a summary of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a centuries-old antisemitic conspiracy theory, on Facebook in March. Salinas, who is Cuban and whose first language is Spanish, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Wednesday that she only shared the post because she saw the word “communism” but didn’t read more. She also assured the JTA that she “loves the Jewish community,” has Jewish friends, and enjoys an Israeli series on Netflix. In addition to Gorman’s poem, Salinas also challenged books on Black and Cuban history, most of which the school agreed to relocate so only older students could access them.