Massachusetts politician apologizes for post about burning Quran

Facing mounting criticism from his Democratic primary rivals City Councilor Jake Auchincloss in Newton, US state of Massachusetts on Wednesday formally apologized for a decade-old social media post

Facing mounting criticism from his Democratic primary rivals City Councilor Jake Auchincloss in Newton, US state of Massachusetts on Wednesday formally apologized for a decade-old social media post that alluded to burning the Quran.

Auchincloss — who is viewed as a frontrunner in the race to replace Congressman Joe Kennedy — wrote in a 2010 Facebook post, “So we can’t burn their book, but they can burn our flag?” He linked to an article about Pakistani lawyers burning the American flag.

Auchincloss initially described the comment as a “sarcastic” remark he made as a 22-year-old Harvard student, and stopped short of apologizing outright. His rivals pounced: fellow Newton City Councilor Becky Grossman called the comments “inexcusable,” and former Assistant Attorney General Dave Cavell called them “disqualifying.”

 “As a white man, I recognize that I need to interrogate my own privilege,” Auchincloss said in a statement. “I’ve gotten this wrong, years ago, in tone-deaf social media posts that could cause offense to Indigenous and Muslim communities. I’m sorry for these comments — I regret them, and I’ve learned from them.”