CNN, NYT Contributor Wajahat Ali Pushes #MassacreMoscowMitch Hashtag About McConnell

Wajahat Ali, a New York Times contributing op-ed writer and CNN contributor expressed glee as “#MassacreMoscowMitch” — an apparent reference to mass shootings and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) — trended on Twitter Monday and even tweeted out the hashtag himself.

“#MassacreMoscowMitch is trending. I still have faith in America,” Ali tweeted before deleting the post amid criticism from center-right journalists.

OAN Tipping Point host Liz Wheeler tweeted of Ali’s post: “If you whine about incendiary rhetoric from politicians – especially after TWO mass shootings this weekend – but you also tweet #MassacreMoscowMitch at a politician BECAUSE YOU DON’T LIKE HIM, then you can sit the hell down.”

Newsbusters managing editor Curtis Houck wrote:

The hashtag is a reference to McConnell’s staunch opposition to gun control legislation. In February, the House passed a bill that would have mandated universal background checks for gun purchases. Democrats have called on the Kentucky Republican to cancel the Senate’s August recess in order to respond to the El Paso and Dayton shootings that took the lives of 31 people over the weekend. “El Paso, Dayton, one awful event after another. @SenateMajLdr McConnell must call the Senate back for an emergency session to put the House-passed universal background checks legislation on the Senate floor for debate and a vote immediately,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) tweeted Sunday.

Ali confirmed that he was deleting the tweet Tuesday morning after it sparked backlash, claiming others were spreading it in “bad faith.”

He continued venting, accusing “right wing trolls” of an attempt to “deflect” discussions about gun control and “white supremacist terrorism.”

“Don’t let them rattle you. Keep moving forward,” the CNN contributor told his 140,000 followers.

In the wake of the shootings, gun control activists have turned the volume up on their incendiary rhetoric targeting McConnell. On Sunday evening, gun control supporters protested outside the lawmaker home in Kentucky and shouted death threats.

“Murder Turtle!” protesters were heard chanting, according to video footage shared to Facebook.

“The bitch home — we keep seeing the lights go on and off,” another demonstrator is heard saying. “This hoe really thought he was going to get ready to be at home after he hurt his little punk ass shoulder. Bitch, don’t nobody give a fuck! Fuck your thoughts and prayers, Mitch. Fuck you, fuck your wife, fuck everything you stand for. ”