Former Florida Rep. Allen West, who met with President-elect Trump last week, has deleted a Facebook post in which he suggested the goal of Trump’s pick for defense secretary is to “exterminate Muslims.”
“Fired by Obama to please the Muslims, hired by Trump to exterminate them,” read a meme posted by West early Saturday morning that featured a picture of retired Marine Gen. James Mattis.
West shared the meme to his Facebook page, which has more than 2.5 million followers. The picture was shared at least 10,000 times before being removed.
An aide to West later took responsibility for posting the meme, which she claimed the former lawmaker had not approved beforehand.
“Last night I posted a meme without Col. West’s knowledge or consent which was inappropriate and crossed the line,” Michele Hickford wrote in a separate post to West’s Facebook page.
“I take full responsibility for this. It was wrong. I was wrong. It does not reflect Col. West’s beliefs,” she added while apologizing “for any offense caused.”
Mattis was appointed by President Obama to head U.S. Central Command, only to resign from the post in 2013. At a rally earlier this month, Trump announced that he had tapped the four-star general to be his Pentagon chief.
It is not yet clear whether West is under consideration for a role in the incoming Republican president’s administration.
