Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) made several gaffes and blunders while speaking to students at a Texas high school ahead of Monday’s solar eclipse.
During an educational program at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston on Monday in which she was a guest speaker, Jackson Lee claimed that the moon was “made up mostly of gases.”
“So that you have the energy of the moon at night,” said Jackson Lee. “And sometimes you’ve heard the word ‘full moon. Sometimes, you need to take the opportunity just to come out and see a full moon is that complete-rounded circle, which is made up mostly of gases. And that’s why the question is: Why or how could we as humans live on the moon? Are the gases such that we could do that?”
It was a factually incorrect statement by a former member of the House Committee on Science. However, the congresswoman’s blunders did not stop there. She also incorrectly categorized the moon as a planet and added that one day, people would be able to live and survive on it.
“I don’t know about you, but I want to be first in line to learn how to live and survive on the moon,” Jackson Lee said. That’s another planet that we’re going to see shortly.”
She also made bizarre and incorrect statements about the sun and energy and botched an explanation of why the solar eclipse was occurring.
“The sun is a mighty powerful heat, but it’s almost impossible to go near the sun,” Jackson Lee said. “The moon is more manageable.”
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The congresswoman was ridiculed on social media after a video of her statements went viral. On Tuesday, she attempted to deflect criticism of her comments with a post on X, formerly Twitter. She claimed she misspoke, insisting she meant to say the sun instead of the moon. She also blamed Republicans for not being focused on “stuff that really matters.”
“Obviously, I misspoke and meant to say the sun, but as usual, Republicans are focused on stupid things instead of stuff that really matters,” Jackson Lee said. “What can I say though, foolish thinkers lust for stupidity.”
