Democrat smears Richard Grenell as Nazi ‘Goebbels with a Twitter account’ for defending Trump

Swalwell, who had earlier engaged in a Twitter fight over the Russia investigation as the intelligence chief stepped down, joined an online battle between Grenell and Politico’s Ryan Lizza over the dispersal of protesters before Trump walked to visit the riot-damaged St. John’s Episcopal Church on Monday.

Grenell said that he saw property damage by protesters in the area, which is now heavily boarded up. Lizza called Grenell’s view “pure propaganda” and that the “peaceful protesters” memorializing George Floyd, who died while held under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, were attacked “so the president could have a photo op at St. John’s. There was basically no property to destroy.”

Then, Swalwell raised the specter of Nazi Germany when he tweeted, “Don’t waste your time, @RyanLizza. @RichardGrenell is Goebbels with a Twitter account.”

The comment drew a strong rebuke from the Republican Jewish Coalition. Chairman Norm Coleman said, “Swalwell owes a genuine apology to Mr. Grenell, to his constituents whom he has embarrassed, and to the victims of Goebbels whose suffering he minimized by this comparison.”

He added, “Ric has been one of the most strident and effective defenders of the Jewish people and the state of Israel. While political rhetoric can get heated, there is no excuse for ugly comparisons to one of the worst monsters in human history. It demeans the important work that Ric has done — getting Germany to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, starving the terrorist regime in Iran of funds that would be used to finance terror against Israel and the Jewish people, and speaking out in defense of German Jews who were targets of anti-Semitic attacks.”

And Grenell told Secrets, “It is never appropriate to compare the murder of 6 million Jews to anything, especially to score political points. The game being played in Washington, D.C., is very troubling to Americans living outside of Washington. What is acceptable in D.C. is not acceptable throughout the rest of our country.”

Earlier this week, Grenell received high praise from Trump for his work as the acting intelligence chief.

And as National Pride Month began, Trump also noted that Grenell was the first openly gay Cabinet member of any administration. “It’s a big deal,” said Trump.