Rep. Gerry Connolly (D., Va.) on Monday criticized President Donald Trump for supporting Iranian protesters in their native language on Twitter, since it's not a language Trump speaks.
CNN's Brianna Keilar mentioned Connolly's belief that it's "a bit much" for Trump to be "lecturing" about free speech when he has criticized the media in the past and asked whether Iran's foreign minister was right to say Trump's tweet in Farsi was "dishonoring the Persian language."
"No, although it may be too cute by half to be using Farsi," Connolly answered. "You're the American president and, clearly, you don't speak Farsi."
He accused Trump of spreading racism in his tweets, without naming any examples, adding that Trump has used Twitter to belittle opponents and the media. Without connecting any of this to Iran, he said Trump "might be better off simply sticking to English."
Trump tweeted his support for Iranians protesting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's brutal regime, calling on Iranian authorities to not kill protesters or restrict the freedom of the press.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1216356280933273600?s=20
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1216540493821239296?s=20
Trump and his allies frequently criticize the media for spreading so-called fake news, leading to a strong emotional reaction from many reporters and anchors such as Keilar.