Steve Scalise shuts down Obama aide's comment about Republican obituaries

(Image credit: Allison Shelley/Getty Images)

published 21 December 2017

It didn't take many words for Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) to shut down President Barack Obama's former aide, Ben Rhodes, on Thursday after the foreign policy adviser made a comment about Republican obituaries:

Scalise's reprimand of Rhodes' comment, then, carried an extra weight:

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With many contentious issues on the table this year, tensions have been high between Republicans and Democrats — as well as between members of a divided GOP. A member of the Republican National Committee in Nevada apologized in July for sharing a Medium post directed at Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who'd just undergone surgery for a blood clot, titled "Please Just F‑‑‑ing Die Already."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.