White House press secretary claims Democrats are 'almost taking the side of terrorists' after Trump tweet
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White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham claims Democrats are "almost taking the side of terrorists" after a controversial retweet from President Trump.
Trump on Monday retweeted a doctored image of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in front of the Iranian flag wearing traditional Islamic garb. The tweet read, "The corrupted Dems trying their best to come to the Ayatollah's rescue."
Asked about criticism over this retweet on Fox News, Graham claimed Trump was "making clear that the Democrats have been parroting Iranian talking points and almost taking the side of terrorists and those who were out to kill the Americans."
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Trump had previously claimed Pelosi was "trying to defend" Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a drone strike authorized by Trump earlier this month, but Factcheck.org noted that "we were not able to find any examples of Democrats who have defended" Soleimani. Pelosi had criticized Trump for authorizing the strike, saying it "risks provoking further dangerous escalation of violence," but called Soleimani himself a "terrible person."
Among those who condemned Trump's Monday retweet was Dana Shell Smith, former U.S. ambassador to Qatar, who wrote, "the president of the United States is engaging in hate speech against an entire religion. And because he is president, it is in our name." Brendan Morrow
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
