A Trump Labor Department official resigned over accusations of anti-Semitism. Here's why some analysts think that's unfair.

U.S. Department of Labor.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Leif Olson, a recently-appointed Labor Department official, resigned after the revelation of posts on his Facebook account from 2016. In the posts, Bloomberg Law reports, Olson appeared to make anti-Semitic comments, suggesting the "Jewish-controlled media 'protects their own.'" But some observers argue that Olson was actually being sarcastic and should not have lost his job over the three-year-old comments.

In fact, Olson may have actually been criticizing anti-Semitism, as the subject of his post, Paul Nehlen — who challenged former House Speaker Paul Ryan in the 2016 Wisconsin Republican primary — has been accused of harboring such viewpoints.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.