Former Rep. Allen West appeared for a meeting at Trump Tower in New York on Monday, a day after garnering criticism for sharing a meme on his Facebook page that appeared to cheer the extermination of Muslims.
The Florida Republican quipped to reporters that he was there for his second meeting because “last time I was here I forgot my umbrella.” He wouldn’t confirm if he was advising Trump on national security issues and demurred when asked about Russian hacking during the election.
“I think there are more important things,” West said. “We’re about to see a collapse in Syria, Iraq is falling apart. The Iran nuclear deal is horrific. China and Russia are expanding. I think that’s where we need to focus your intelligence efforts.”
West is under fire for posting a photo to his Facebook page that showed a picture of retired Marine Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis with the caption, “Fired by Obama to please the Muslims, hired by Trump to exterminate them.”
West’s Facebook has more than 2.5 million followers and the image was shared 10,000 times before it was taken down. An aide to West said she was responsible for posting the meme. West, she said, did not have any role in posting it.
“I don’t know,” West said when asked by reporters if he will join the Trump administration. “They need a groundskeeper, I think, in the White House.”
