Rep. Lee Zeldin’s office fired back at Rosie O’Donnell on Friday after the comedian and longtime Trump nemesis called the congressman a “lying sack of sh*t” on her Twitter account Thursday.
O’Donnell repeatedly attacked Rep. Zeldin (R-NY) in several Twitter messages, calling him a “moron” whose career is “over.”
In a statement to Breitbart News on Friday, Jennifer DiSiena, communications director for Rep. Zeldin, said the congressman would not be “deterred” by O’Donnell’s “ugly” attacks.
“Congressman Zeldin is fighting for his constituents and the American people,” DiSiena said. “He unapologetically wants our President and country to be successful and won’t be deterred by these ugly attacks on social media.”
Zeldin drew the ire of O’Donnell by appearing on MSNBC Thursday to defend Donald Trump Jr.’s reported meeting with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya in June, which sparked renewed allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government when it was revealed this week.
“It is important to point out that nothing happened at the meeting that was illegal,” Zeldin told MSNBC’s Katy Tur. “The hysteria that has resulted where some members of Congress as a result will file articles of impeachment against the President is ridiculous. Senator Kaine calling it treason – I mean give me a break. So, we should just assess this for what it is.”
“As far as the president goes, we should be supportive of him, most importantly because we want our country to be successful,” he added. “It’s okay to disagree, where we disagree with an approach on a particular issue on health care, and taxes, and our veterans. It is important for us to have a substantive productive debate when we disagree, but the fact that the President’s hand was on the bible, the entire parade route of people with ‘Impeach him now’ signs, I would say that there are extremes here at play. It would be helpful if we could bridge that gap.”
O’Donnell has feuded publicly with Trump for much of the past decade.
The comedian and former View host has kept up her criticism of the Trump administration on social media since the election. On Friday, O’Donnell tweeted that Trump is “guilty” and “illegitimate,” though she did not specify a crime for which Trump would be guilty.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum
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