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White House press secretary Jen Psaki faces searing backlash for ‘homophobic’ Lindsey Graham slur

White house press secretary jen psaki talking to reporters

White House press secretary Jen Psaki talks to reporters during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on 3 February 2021 in Washington, DC. After appearing to slight the U.S. Space Force, Psaki invited representatives of the newest military branch to come to the White House to brief reporters. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

White House press secretary Jen Psaki is under fire for a 2020 tweet that seemingly used a homophobic slur towards Republican senator Lindsey Graham.

In an August 2020 tweet, Jen Psaki wrote: “Only in 2020 does #LadyG get to push a bunch of debunked conspiracy theories while questioning @SallyQYates (aka an American hero).”

The tweet refers to former acting attorney general Sally Yates who was set to testify before the senate judiciary committee, which Graham chairs. 

Fox News said the tweet also includes a reference to a Washington Post article that detailed allegations made on Twitter by gay porn star Sean Harding against Graham. The article claimed “Lady Graham” and the abbreviated “Lady G” referred to Graham’s nickname among male sex workers. 

Fox News argued Graham’s critics “on the left have long used homophobic slurs against the South Carolina lawmarker insinuating that he’s a closed gay man because he is single”.

Jen Psaki’s tweet has stirred up controversy online

Many people, mostly conservatives, have taken to Twitter to condemn Psaki’s tweet after it resurfaced. Curtis Houch, managing editor of NewsBusters, claimed Psaki had joked that Graham was a trans woman in the tweet. 

He said: “But because he’s a Republican, CNN and MSNBC won’t raise hell over this.

“Therefore, they’re OK with actual transphobia.”

Others also called her out for use of the Lady G hashtag. 

But Lindsey Graham is now under fire for making his own inflammatory comments

The South Carolina senator is now coming under harsh criticism after he told Democratic lawmakers: “Be careful what you wish for,” after suggesting that if the Trump impeachment trial is drawn out, then the focus will be shifted to vice president Kamala Harris. 

Graham has on numerous occasions said that no witnesses should be called during the impeachment trial and, if Democrats call witnesses, Republicans will do the same. 

The votes of 67 senators, including 17 Republicans, are required to convict Trump during the impeachment trial. However, at this time, a conviction seems unlikely. 

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday (3 February), Graham said: “If you’re going to pursue this, and you wanna start calling witnesses, and you want to drag this thing out, it would be fair to have Kamala Harris’ tape played where she bailed people out of jail.

“What more could you do to incite future violence than to pay the bail of people who broke up the shops and beat up the cops.

“How’s that not inciting future violence?

“Be careful what you wish for my Democratic colleagues, be careful what you wish for.”

Graham could be referring to the 1 June 2020 tweet from then-senator Harris where she encouraged people to “chip in now to the Minnesota Freedom Fund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota” during the Black Lives Matter protests. 

But according to The Washington Post’s “Fact Checker”, it is “wrong to suggest that the donations led to the release of many protestors or rioters”.

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