Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee: Sun Is ‘Almost’ Impossible to Go Near, Moon ‘Made Up Mostly of Gases’

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, speaks as the House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Hannah Knudsen

Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) is under fire for remarks she made about the moon and sun on Monday, concluding that the former is “made up mostly of gases” and asserting that it is “almost” impossible to go near the sun.

“You’ve heard the word full moon. Sometimes you need to take the opportunity just to come out and see a full moon is that complete rounded circle, which is made up mostly of gases,” Jackson Lee claimed during a recent appearance at the Booker T. Washington High School in Houston.

“And that’s why the question is why or how could we, as humans, live on the moon? Are the gases such that we could do that?” she asked students before switching gears to the sun.

“The sun is a mighty powerful heat,” she said, telling students it is “almost impossible to go near the sun.”

“The moon is more manageable. And you will see…in a couple of years that NASA is going back to the moon,” she said, offering other head-scratching facts ahead of the eclipse:

I don’t think we’ve been on the moon the last 50 years. So we will be landing on the moon. What you’ll see today will be the closest distance that the moon has ever been in the last 20 years, which means that’s why they will shut the light down because they will be close to the Earth.

Jackson Lee added that she would like to be the “first in line to know how to live and to be able to survive on the moon.”

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Her remarks generated plenty of mockery, particularly given that she once reigned as the top Democrat on the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee.

“How are these the people running our country,” one person asked.

“She criticizes others for being unintelligent,” another mocked.

“Listening to this hurt,” another added as others piled on:

Jackson Lee corrected her remarks in a statement to the New York Post, claiming she “misspoke and meant to say the sun, but as usual, Republicans are focused on stupid things instead of stuff that really matters.”

“What can I say though, foolish thinkers lust for stupidity!” Jackson Lee said of her GOP critics.

“They should be focusing on issues like prenatal care, building more affordable housing, and more reduction of student loan debt as President Joe Biden is,” the congresswoman continued, claiming that she cares “more about these children who would not have experienced the eclipse in this enthusiastic manner.”

“And I care more about protecting the rights of women and children than engaging in this kind of senseless dialogue!” she added.

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