Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee of Utah has deleted a pair of social media posts associating the deadly Minnesota shootings last weekend with “Marxists” and the state’s Democratic governor.
The move to remove the X posts followed criticism from a Republican colleague Tuesday. Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told reporters Lee’s decision to comment online over the weekend “seems insensitive, to say the least, inappropriate, for sure” and “not even true.”
“I don’t know if this person was a Marxist or not,” Cramer said. “I have no sense. Nor does it matter, by the way, nor does it matter. I mean … what happened is absolutely, positively unacceptable in any political environment, and it’s tragic.”
Pressed on Lee’s response, Cramer added, “He maybe should have waited longer before he responded. I don’t know where he stands today on it. I just know where I do … the politics of this shooter are so irrelevant to me. … I just think whenever you rush to a judgment like this, when your political instincts kick in during a tragedy, you probably should realign some priorities, but I haven’t talked to Mike about it personally.”
