Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said “awesome” in response to news of Iranian ships evading the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, drawing heavy backlash and pushing him to clarify he was using “sarcasm.”

Murphy has been one of the most visible critics of the war with Iran in Congress, but took his critiques to another level with a post that right-wing figures determined to be a celebration of the news that 26 Iranian vessels bypassed the U.S. blockade. His post, simply reading “awesome,” was met with intense criticism, but remained up without alterations or elaboration for roughly 16 hours before he issued a clarification.