An intern for Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky has resigned. His scathing resignation letter against the GOP politician went viral.
Massie has been a vocal opponent of vaccine mandates and verification, even as the Delta variant caused a surge in new cases of Covid-19 all over the world.
But many felt the Republican Congressman went too far in a recent, since-deleted tweet. Massie compared vaccine verification to the Holocaust.
The post featured a black and white image of the tattooed wrist of a concentration camp survivor, with the caption:
"If you have to carry a card on you to gain access to a restaurant, venue or an event in your own country ... that's no longer a free country."
The post proved to be the last straw for Andrew Zirkle, an intern working in Massie's office.
Zirkle did not leave quietly.
He posted his resignation letter on Twitter for all to read, accompanied by a screenshot of Massie's antisemitic post.
In his resignation letter, Zirkle announced he was resigning "effective immediately." He stated no apology would be sufficient to sway his decision.
"The Tweet that Congressman Massie posted last night, in which he compared vaccine passports to the Holocaust, was insensitive not only to survivors of the Holocaust, but the millions who perished as a result."
"The anti semitic nature of this post is beyond apology, and as a result I cannot in good conscience continue at my current position."
While Zirkle did acknowledge how grateful he was for the opportunity to work in Massie's office—sending well-wishes to the remaining staff—he had more to say to the Kentucky Representative in two follow-up tweets.
"These sorts of statements and comparisons are highly inappropriate and are not something I want to associate with personally or professionally. "
"Everyone has personal limits of what is intolerable, and this is one of mine."
"I hope to take what experience I gained from DC and move on stronger to the next challenge."
Twitter wasted no time in commending Zirkle for making the decision to distance himself from Massie and for speaking out against the Congressman's anti-vaxx rhetoric.
Though a few asked Zirkle how he didn't see something like this coming, pointing out Massie has a history of insensitive, often bigoted rhetoric.
After receiving over one thousand responses to his resignation letter, Zirkle returned to Twitter to admit his surprise his Tweet reached such a wide audience.
Massie isn't the only Republican to compare mandates regarding masks and vaccines to the Holocaust.
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene previously refused to apologize for comparing mask mandates to "gas chambers in Nazi Germany."
While John Bennett, chair of the Oklahoma Republican party, drew considerable criticism and condemnation from his fellow Republicans after posting an image of the Star of David labeled "unvaccinated."
Massie has yet to comment on Zirkle's viral resignation, but has since filled his Twitter page with a number of new tweets condemning vaccine mandates and verification.
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