In a controversial tweet meant to be a joke, Republican Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has compared Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a monkey.
So Ahmadinejad wants to be first Iranian in space – wasn’t he just there last week? “Iran launches monkey into space” news.yahoo.com/iran-launches-…
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) February 4, 2013
The Senator immediately followed up with a tweet asking people to “… lighten up, folks, can’t everyone take a joke?” But at that point, it was too late.
Alex Kantrowitz of Forbes.com took issue with the joke, writing that McCain took the “low road.” But “Newsweek”/Daily Beast cultural news editor and frequent Fox News “RedEye” guest Michael C. Moynihan pointed out the hypocrisy of condemning McCain’s joke:
Wait, McCain compared the Iranian president to a monkey? Very disrespectfulbit.ly/XSkJAS
— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 4, 2013
Moynihan’s tweet includes a link to several Google images of illustrations depicting former President George W. Bush as a monkey.
Are Twitter users overly sensitive or cautiously respectful of world leaders? Whether you agree that it was a light-hearted joke or a serious misstep, there’s no denying that the former Republican presidential nominee’s brand of comedy isn’t universally accepted.
