St. Louis Councilwoman Lisa Clancy took to social media on Thursday to criticize Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) after his campaign bus was seen parked horizontally across six parking spaces in a crowded lot. Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Clancy shared photos of the bus, which was taking up multiple spaces and obstructing nearby cars, along with a pointed message for the senator.
“Hey Senator Hawley, I know you’re not around very often, but normally out-of-state travelers don’t just leave their bus illegally parked in six spaces when they head back home to wherever,” Clancy wrote. “The county asks you to come back to MO to move your bus.”
The photos Clancy shared show a large campaign bus parked across several spaces, with cars parked on either side, making it nearly impossible for the bus to leave without hitting surrounding vehicles. In addition to Clancy’s post, a Reddit user also shared similar images of the scene, capturing the bus and the difficult parking situation.
Both Clancy’s photos and those from the Reddit user also show a green sticker on the bus’s window, warning that it could be towed. A business card was taped to the windshield that read, “You absolutely suck at parking. Flip over to see the reason.” There was even a tissue tucked under the bus’s windshield wipers, adding to the scene.
Hawley’s communications director quickly responded, claiming the situation was being blown out of proportion. She labeled it as “fake news,” suggesting that the parking stickers, which are available for purchase on Amazon, were likely placed on the bus by Clancy or her supporters. She also accused Marine veteran and Hawley’s Senate opponent, Lance Kunce, of encouraging his supporters to vandalize the bus with the stickers.
Kunce, however, took the opportunity to join the conversation, retweeting Clancy’s photos and adding his own jab at Hawley. “If Hawley paid off the parking tickets, it might end up being the first time he’s brought money back home to Missouri since he got to the Senate!” Kunce wrote, seizing the moment to criticize Hawley’s record in the Senate.
Despite the back-and-forth accusations, Clancy did not dispute the accuracy of the photos showing Hawley’s bus parked horizontally across multiple spots. The images clearly depict the bus blocking several spaces, with cars tightly packed around it, preventing the bus from moving easily.
The parking incident has added a lighthearted, yet pointed, dimension to the ongoing political rivalry between Hawley and Kunce. What started as a seemingly minor parking mishap quickly escalated into a social media spectacle, with both sides using the incident to score political points. As the story gained traction online, it underscored the often unusual ways in which politics and everyday frustrations can intersect, especially in the public eye.