Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah had an altercation with Minnesota’s Democratic US senator after he removed a slew of controversial social media posts over the weekend in which he responded to the shooting murders of Minnesota state lawmakers.
Lee stirred up trouble by posting on X and making assumptions about the accused shooter’s political leanings. “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way.” he stated in one post. Posting “Nightmare on Waltz Street” in another, he seemed to associate the perpetrator with Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
The postings were removed off Lee’s X profile on Tuesday afternoon. For comment, HEADLINESFOREVER has contacted Lee’s office.
A barrage of criticism erupted in response to the senator’s postings, which he made following the tragic assaults on Minnesota state representatives and their families, which have prompted questions about the safety of lawmakers. On Monday, Minnesota Democrat Tina Smith questioned Lee on his statements.
He asked my opinion, and I told him it was horrible and merciless. On Monday night, Smith told him to consider the consequences of his words and actions. “All it does is add fuel to the fire of bigotry and false information.”
Smith expressed her desire for Lee “to hear from me directly how painful that was and how brutal that was to see that on what was just a horribly brutal weekend” when she made her statement.
Smith has been contacted for comment by HEADLINESFOREVER.
“I have condemned what Mike Lee did here at home. I will speak to him about this when I return [to Washington]. What I’m going to tell him is, you know, this isn’t funny what happened here,” Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar told MSNBC that morning on Monday, adding her criticism of Lee’s posts.
The office of the Minnesota senator informed HEADLINESFOREVER that Klobuchar and Lee had a “good conversation” on Tuesday morning, and that she is grateful that he removed the tweet.
While speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill following a briefing on lawmaker safety, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut echoed the criticism on Tuesday.
The political violence that is raging and spreading in our society is something that I believe a lot of the MAGA rhetoric is fueling. “And it’s really irresponsible of those in public life and members of these fringe groups—who are becoming a greater threat—to add fuel to the fire,” Blumenthal said.
“I really believe that the problem is much broader than any single public official,” Blumenthal said, avoiding a direct rebuke of Lee. There is a real, present danger, in my opinion, due to a lot of the dangerous MAGA rhetoric and other forms of fueling the fire.