On Tuesday, the Women’s March apologized after sending out a donation request email that listed their average donation as $14.92, claiming that the amount was reminiscent of the year Christopher Columbus discovered America, Fox News reports.
“We apologize deeply for the email that was sent today,” the organization posted on Twitter. “$14.92 was our average donation amount this week. It was an oversight on our part to not make the connection to a year of colonization, conquest, and genocide for Indigenous people, especially before Thanksgiving.”
The statement references disputed claims about the European explorer, who some on the Left have painted as genocidal and racist, even though there is no evidence to support these claims. The holiday of Thanksgiving also bears no connection to Columbus, but is instead based on the large dinner that was held in 1621 as a peaceful meeting between the Pilgrims and Native Americans.
The apology was widely mocked on social media, with Frank Fleming, a senior writer for the conservative satire website Babylon Bee, noting that “this is the challenge for The Babylon Bee with all the woke stuff; it’s like trying to satirize a comedy.”
The Women’s March has declined significantly in size and influence since it was first started in 2017, out of opposition to then-President Donald Trump and his America First agenda. Its inaugural protest drew roughly 500,000 attendees, which was dwarfed by the crowd that attended President Trump’s inauguration. In later years, the group’s leadership was plagued with internal divisions, and particularly anti-Semitism from leaders such as Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory, which led to the resignation of one of its Jewish cofounders, Vanessa Wruble.