The cable news host who once wished sexual assault upon a GOP lawmaker also thinks the president of the United States is “a piece of shit.”
What we’re trying to say is: Reza Aslan clearly has difficulty managing his emotions.
Aslan was angered this weekend by President Donald Trump’s response to a terrorist attack in London that had claimed the lives of seven and wounded dozens more.
“We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!” the president said Saturday.
Aslan, who is an Iranian-American religious studies expert, responded by saying on social media, “This piece of shit is not just an embarrassment to America and a stain on the presidency. He’s an embarrassment to humankind.”
He later deleted the tweet and apologized, writing, “I should have used better language to express my shock and frustration at the president’s lack of decorum and sympathy for the victims of London. I apologize for my choice of words.”
I should not have used a profanity to describe the President when responding to his shocking reaction to the #LondonAttacks. My statement: pic.twitter.com/pW69jjpoZy
— Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) June 4, 2017
CNN was also quick to distance itself from Aslan and his since-deleted note.
“Reza Aslan is not a CNN employee, but does host a series on the network,” a network spokesperson said in a statement. “We are pleased that he has apologized for his tweets. That kind of discourse is never appropriate.”
Calling Trump a “piece of shit” is hardly the worst thing that Aslan has said on social media about a Republican politician. That particular distinction would go to the moment in 2012 when the cable news host wished rape upon the idiot and former Missouri congressman Todd Akin.
Akin sunk his senatorial campaign, and dragged the GOP down with him in the process, when he said in reference to abortion exemptions in the case of abortion or incest that pregnancies don’t usually result from such violence. “If it’s a legitimate rape,” he said, “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
Unsurprisingly, the former Missouri congressman’s nonsensical remarks drew sharp criticism from all corners, including from his own party. Aslan also had thoughts on Akin’s musings.
In reference to a right-wing commentator who compared the ex-congressman to a rape victim, Aslan quipped on social media, “I wish!”
The cable news host clarified later, “Just to be clear I was indeed wishing someone would rape congressman Todd Akin. I’d hate to be misunderstood.”
Interestingly enough, those two tweets were never deleted, nor was an apology issued. Rape fantasies are one thing, but insulting the president of the United States is a bridge too far, apparently.
At least he used the word “humankind,” thus avoiding the ire of feminists.
