(LibertySociety.com) – Former CIA Director Michael Hayden is under fire for tweets that appeared to equate Trump supporters with the Taliban.
On August 19, he shared a meme via Twitter which depicts side-by-side images of the Taliban in pickup trucks wielding guns, and Trump supporters in a parade, their vehicles adorned with flags. The images are respectively captioned with “Their Taliban” and “Our Taliban.” He received further backlash after suggesting that the US should send unvaccinated Trump supporters to unstable Afghanistan.
Good idea https://t.co/pn6xcWTtc8
— Gen Michael Hayden (@GenMhayden) August 22, 2021
The retweet met with a number of scathing replies. Representative Jim Banks (R-IN) hit back with, “Sad and unbecoming even from you, Mike.”
Republican Scott T. Parkinson and Fox News contributor Sara A. Carter were among the many critics who slammed Hayden for his remarks. Former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka called him a “seditious hack,” while Florida congressional candidate Jose Castillo called the retired general a clown.
Hayden served under former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He went on to endorse President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. His career accolades include rising to the rank of four-star general in the US Air Force, and serving as the Director of the National Security Agency, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and finally, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
During Hayden’s extensive experience in service to the US, he undoubtedly saw the scope of the terror threats to America first-hand. His comparison of US citizens exercising their right to free speech with members of a radical, Afghan extremist group has left many scratching their heads.
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