Washington, Apr 5 (PTI) On Easter Sunday morning, US President Donald Trump surprised both friends and detractors with a profane social media post warning Iran that it will be "living in Hell" if it did not open the Strait of Hormuz, drawing calls for dialling back the rhetoric.
"Open the Fn' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, hours after the US armed forces carried out a daring operation to rescue a missing crew member of a fighter jet shot down inside Iran.
Early Sunday morning, Trump praised the crew member who was rescued and the special military team that got him safely out from deep inside the mountains of Iran. Minutes later, the president vowed that Iran can expect heavy bombardment -- very soon.
Former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had a public falling out with Trump before she left Congress, said the president "has gone insane." "On Easter morning, this is what President Trump posted," Greene said on X. "Everyone in his administration that claims to be a Christian needs to fall on their knees and beg forgiveness from God and stop worshipping the President and intervene in Trump's madness," she added.
"This is the first war fought in this age of social media with this president. I think he does things very differently," Bill Stepien, former campaign manager of Trump, said on CNN.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine termed the "rhetoric" from the Trump administration as "embarrassing and juvenile." "I hope the White House -- I doubt the president will -- but please dial back the rhetoric because you don't need to put people like these pilots more at risk by the rhetoric that you use," Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, told NBC News.
"It's disgusting," Democrat Congresswoman Becca Balint said during an appearance on MS NOW's "The Weekend." "It's shocking that this is our president," Balint added.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the US President an "unhinged madman". "Happy Easter, America. As you head off to church and celebrate with friends and family, the President of the United States is ranting like an unhinged madman on social media," Schumer said in a post on X.
"If I were in Trump's Cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment. This is completely, utterly unhinged. He's already killed thousands. He's going to kill thousands more," Chris Murphy, a Democrat Senator from Connecticut said.