Someone at the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) on Sunday sent out a tweet calling President Donald Trump a “delusional communist” in a tweet that was later deleted.
The tweet posted Sunday afternoon at 1:50 p.m. on the official, verified SC Kansas KDOT twitter account.
“You’re a delusional Communist. You know it’s Communist countries that try to control media, right?” the tweet read.
In response to the tweet, The Kansas Republican Party sent out a statement questioning Governor Laura Kelly’s bipartisanship.
“Governor Kelly campaigned on bipartisanship but she refuses to negotiate with Republicans in the legislature, and her staff is too busy attacking President Trump on the Kansas taxpayer’s dime,” their statement read.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly took over executive branch agencies three months ago. Kelly has nominated Julie Lorenz, previously of Burns & McDonnell, to be transportation secretary.
The Kansas Department of Transportation says the employee who sent the tweet is no longer part of the agency.
KDOT’s Acting Secretary Julie Lorenz says the tweet was deleted “as it does not reflect the views of KDOT or the Administration and was an unacceptable use of state communication tools. The person who sent the tweet is no longer an employee of KDOT.”
How it all started
The KDOT tweet was replying to a tweet posted by President Trump criticizing Fox News anchors Arthel Neville and Leland Vittert.
Trump’s tweet also criticized CNN, suggesting the anchors should be working there alongside Shepard Smith.
“Were @FoxNews weekend anchors, @ArthelNeville and @LelandVittert, trained by CNN prior to their ratings collapse? In any event, that’s where they should be working, along with their lowest rated anchor, Shepard Smith!”
Trump appeared to single out the hosts after a segment aired on Fox News’ “America’s New HQ” with Republican Senator Sean Duffy (WI) in which Vittert questioned the constitutionality of the president’s proposed border wall with Mexico.
Shepard Smith, who anchors “Shepard Smith Reporting” on weekdays at 3 p.m., has gone viral multiple times for pushing back hard against the president’s statements, and for a brief spat with the network’s opinion hosts, including Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham. Smith’s show is supposed to be a new program, but he often gives slanted news coverage, stating his own opinion and calling the President a liar on multiple occasions.
The President has frequently taken issue with CNN’s coverage.
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