Minnesota Democratic Senator Tina Smith called out her GOP colleague, Utah Senator Mike Lee, to his face over his tweets mocking the shootings of two Democratic lawmakers in Smith's state, noting that Lee pretended to be on the phone to try to get away from her.
Smith was a friend of murdered state Representative Melissa Hortman, who was assassinated along with her husband on Saturday morning. Earlier that morning, state Senator John Hoffman and his wife were shot in their home in the next town and were hospitalized (Hoffman and his wife are expected to survive.) The shooter has since been captured and charged for the murders, firearm offenses, and stalking. Smith was on the assassin's lengthy hit list.
Speaking with political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen, Smith said she confronted Lee in a hallway off the Senate floor during evening votes. He had shared or interacted with several posts that attributed the shootings to left-wing political groups, erroneously blamed the shooting on "Marxists," and shared a headshot of the assassin with the text “Nightmare on Waltz Street,” referencing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Smith said:
"Here we have Mike Lee in the Senate posting this horrible picture and his terrible tweet. I just feel so often we respond to one another on social media and I wanted to look him in the eye and tell him how it made me and so many other Minnesotans feel that he had done this."
"So I'm waiting for him, trying to track him down, and I honestly have to chase after him a bit because he is doing that old thing of talking on the phone. I chased him down to a room where Republicans were about to have a caucus meeting and pulled him out. I told him, "I want you to know that you put a picture of the man who killed my friend and said, 'This is what happens.' Think of the consequences of that."
"I wanted him to think of those consequences and what it means not just to me but all of the people who are in so much pain because of this loss. I don't think this is a man who is frequently confronted by anybody and I'll tell you he seemed a little shocked to have anybody challenging him let alone one of his colleagues."
"We need to speak to each other at this moment about the impact of what people are saying."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
In a separate interview with CNN, Smith said:
""I wanted him to know about the consequence of his words. I went to him and I said, 'Your message on social media showed the image of the man who killed my friend, and your message is, this is what happens? You need to take responsibility and accountability for what you are saying and doing out there in the social media world.'"
"I wanted him to hear that from me directly and not for me to tweet out at him. I think that is important, that he understand the consequences, the impact on these people who are going through so much pain and trauma. This is not a joke."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Many have condemned Lee's actions.
In a separate exchange, a senior aide to Smith emailed members of Lee’s staff, accusing Lee of having “exploited the murder of a lifetime public servant and her husband to post some sick burns about Democrats.” Smith's aide Ed Shelleby mocked the senator for "a successful day of work on Team Lee" and sarcastically asked if he is "proud of the work you did over the weekend?”
Lee finally deleted the tweets on Tuesday after a firestorm. Perhaps Smith finally was able to appeal to his sense of shame. The GOP for their part had largely declined to criticize his behavior outright, instead suggesting that all politicians in Congress should dial down "the rhetoric." Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville said any chances of that happening are unlikely because people are "competitive" and will "push back."
Despite Lee's contention, as well as that of much of MAGA, the killer has been confirmed to be a Trump supporter and a far-right anti-abortion Christian fundamentalist.
