Michigan Rep. Justin Amash attacked 2008 GOP presidential candidate John McCain of Arizona on Monday, calling him a racist for jokingly comparing Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a monkey on Twitter.
“Maybe you should wisen up & not make racist jokes,” Amash, a second-term Republican, said on Twitter.
Earlier on Monday, Ahmadinejad told state media that he was “ready to be sacrificed by the scientists of my country and go into space,” T
he Huffington Post reports.
He said Iran plans to send an astronaut to space within six years.
McCain responded by citing that country’s recent launch of a monkey into space on Twitter.
“So Ahmadinejad wants to be first Iranian in space — wasn't he just there last week?" McCain said and then providing a link to a report on the move.
Amash and many others criticized McCain for the remark — “Whoa,” the junior congressman said on Twitter — and McCain then responded that it was a joke, The Post reports.
“Re: Iran space tweet - lighten up folks, can't everyone take a joke?” McCain responded.
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