Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R) is getting trolled online after he put the Biden administration’s handling of recent drone sightings on blast—by using an image of a Star Wars prop.
Mastriano, who rose to national prominence during his 2022 gubernatorial bid, where he ended up losing to Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) by nearly 15%, posted Monday evening that “it is inconceivable that the federal government has no answers nor has taken any action to get to the bottom of the unidentified drones.”
“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 recourses 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.”
Mastriano is far from the only lawmaker to raise concerns about the wave of drone sightings—which have sparked an array of conspiracy theories as many remain unsatisfied with the government’s answer: that every sighting has been a lawful aircraft with no “public safety risk.”
Mastriano is no stranger to conspiracies himself, but he appears to be the only one using an image of a Star Wars prop to make his point.
A Community Note under Mastriano’s post now states that the image he used “is of a prop/replica spaceship from Star Wars” and links to a description of a TIE fighter.
The exact origin and purpose of the TIE fighter is unclear, however, a reverse image search shows the image popping up online since at least late February 2023.
The same image went viral on Reddit in February 2023 as well, prompting users to joke about the fighter being part of one’s right to bear arms or it being “the aid for Ukraine.”
One user said he thought it was being transported for a parade in the Almond Blossom Festival in Ripon, California. (Other images show that a TIE fighter was at the festival.)
But one thing is for certain: the TIE fighter is not connected to the recent drone sightings, prompting social media to quickly mock Mastriano.
“Are the ‘drones’ in the room with you? Can you hear the Star Wars theme in the background?” quipped one person. “Most importantly, what color is your Lightsaber?”
“Did he really fall for this?” asked another person.
“I am not surprised you lost to Josh Shapiro based solely off of this,” swiped one critic.
“These are not the drones you’re looking for,” concluded someone else.
A handful of Mastriano’s supporters have given him some credence, believing that those trolling the state senator were actually trolled by him first.
“Glad to see you have a sense of humor,” one person posted, only to be met with a chorus of “don’t think he’s joking” replies.
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