Democractic Party of Am Samoa Issues Apology

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The Democratic Party of American Samoa last night issued a statement regarding the delegation roll call which has attracted media attention not just in the US but around the world.

“Each State and Territory worked with the Democratic National Convention Committee to craft a virtual message highlighting values that matter to each jurisdiction. The American Samoa Democratic Party for its roll call appearance—chose to highlight the importance of the US Military in our territory and the fact that American Samoa is the only US jurisdiction that has no COVID‐19 cases.

“Our intent was to emphasize our commitment to the US military, as we have the highest per capita of enlisted service members in the United States. Now we realize that the setup for the roll call segment was not the best judgment on our part and a mistake. We express our deepest apologies to the soldiers and their families for our mistake. It was not intended to be a political statement—but our way to show our pride in the US Military and the importance of the US military in our lives and to honor our sons and daughters in the US Armed Services. We take full responsibility for our lack of judgment in this incident.”

In the video which was filmed at Fatu ma Futi, Party Chairman Leifi Aliitama Sotoa and Committeewoman Petti Matila who pledged the party’s 11 votes for Joe Biden, are flanked by two local army reservists wearing face masks.

According to the Washington Post, the US Army is investigating how the soldiers ended up in the political video,

US Army spokesman Lt Col Emmanuel Ortiz said the soldiers, assigned to the Army Reserve 9th Mission Support Command are under investigation.

He said wearing a uniform to a partisan political event like this is prohibited.

“The Army follows the Department of Defense’s long standing and well defined policy regarding political campaigns and elections to avoid the perception of DOD sponsorships, approval or endorsement of any political candidate, campaign or cause.”

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