Mayoral contender Andrew Yang got dragged by the Twitter mob yet again on Monday after he tweeted that he was “On the A train Bronx bound.”
“I love going express from 59th to 125th,” he said in a follow-up post.
To get to the Bronx, Yang could have easily switched to the B train, or D train at 125th Street — but social media users didn’t interpret it that way, and pounced at the opportunity to mock the city politics newcomer.
“I’ll be curious to hear what Mr. Yang learns about the Bronx after his A train ride,” quipped retired city journalist Clyde Haberman. “Whenever I took that train — I lived as a boy at its northern terminus — it never went to the Bronx. Still doesn’t.”
“The A train doesn’t go to the Bronx. Unless it’s a magic train,” another tweeter scoffed.
“It’s Monday. Who’s going to tell him?” commented State Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens) — a supporter of Yang’s opponent Scott Stringer — nodding at Yang’s knack for attracting online ire over posts that appear to poke holes in his New Yorker authenticity.
In his quest to become mayor, Yang has previously been dinged for posting a video from a “bodega” that some deemed too upscale for such a title, and for pledging to make changes to the Big Apple that are actually out of the city’s control.
But some commenters seemed stumped by the harsh response to his A train post and came to Yang’s defense, while others debated whether the candidate and his team knew they had to transfer.
Still others acknowledged that Yang’s post was accurate — yet argued that his phrasing indicated a lack of familiarity with the city he wants to lead.
“If you wanna get elected in New York, you’d better know how to speak New York. ‘I’m goin up to the Bronx, switching to the D at 125th.’” user @crazyjo2482 said.
“Nobody says ‘Bronx bound.’ This isn’t a Pixar movie,” the user said — though the MTA itself constantly references to “Bronx-bound” trains and riders.
Yang’s staff later confirmed that the candidate switched trains to complete his journey to meet with Bronx Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson.
