"Submoronic pratfall of a human": "The Wire" creator slams MTG over Baltimore bridge conspiracy

David Simon, a native of the D.C.-Maryland area, took to social media to condemn unfounded claims about the tragedy

Published March 27, 2024 4:06PM (EDT)

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks to reporters outside of the U.S. Capitol Building after a vote on a funding bill that would avert a government shutdown on March 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks to reporters outside of the U.S. Capitol Building after a vote on a funding bill that would avert a government shutdown on March 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

"The Wire" creator David Simon has hit out at individuals promoting baseless conspiracy theories regarding the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, which occurred after a container ship collided with one of the bridge supports around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Simon took specific aim at conservative firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ga., after she implied on X/Twitter that the tragedy could have been a terrorist attack.

"There should be a serious investigation into the horrifying tragedy of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland," Greene tweeted on Tuesday. "Is this an intentional attack or an accident?" Using the Republican's own words against her in a quote-tweet response, Simon asked, "Are you intentional or just an accident," adding, "You complete submoronic pratfall of a human being."

Simon also condemned right-wing attorney and former member of Florida's House of Representatives, Anthony Sabatini, for making an odd and unrelated claim that diversity, equity, and inclusion were at fault for the catastrophic collapse. "DEI did this," Sabatini wrote on X/Twitter. 

"Your mother did you, but after a hard life of service on a truck-stop lot, can we really hold her loosened, battered womb responsible for dropping you head-first on the Winnebago floor and burdening our society with another empty, racist demagogue thereafter? We cannot," Simon wrote in reply. 

Simon worked for The Baltimore Sun prior to serving as the creator and showrunner of "The Wire," per The Wrap. The award-winning HBO drama details the reality of urban life — with a specific focus on the interplay between police officers and gang members — in Baltimore during the early aughts.