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MSNBC host Joy Reid was mocked on social media in her attempt to combat Attorney General William Barr's condemnation of Antifa violence that has taken place in Portland, Ore. in recent weeks.
During Tuesday's hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, Barr refuted Democratic chairman Jerry Nadler's claim that the existence of Antifa is a "myth" created in Washington D.C., testifying that the group has been an element in Portland's riots.
Reid, however, felt the need to explain to the attorney general what Antifa actually stands for.
"Say the whole word, Barr. What does "ANTIFA" stand for? Spell it out? Ok I'll do it for you: Anti-Fascist. Now. Do go on..." the ReidOut host tweeted.
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Critics ridiculed the MSNBC host for using Antifa's literal name in defense of the violent group.
"Joy probably thinks that the People's Republic of China is an actual republic, too," radio host Dana Loesch tweeted.
"Not really a gotcha. The Nazi Party, when spelled out, was the National Socialist German Worker's Party, which sounds benign but wasn't," Reason senior editor Robby Soave similarly wrote.
"So liberals aren't allowed to criticize the Patriot Act... because it has the word patriot in it," writer Ryan James Girdusky quipped.
"ANTIFA is anti-fascist in the same way Soviets were republics run by the people," David Harsanyi, National Review senior writer, said.
"Does Joy Reid really think that everyone who opposes 'fascism' is thereby a member of Antifa, which despite the innocuous-sounding name generally connotes ideological anarchism," journalist Michael Tracey wrote.
Washington Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy pointed out that Reid has repeatedly made the "anti-fascist" defense of Antifa on Twitter, citing two examples from May.
"@JoyAnnReid loves to fire off the hot take that ackshually Antifa is good b/c Antifa stands for anti-fascist as if what you name yourself is what you are. Is China a People's Republic? North Korea a Democratic People's Republic? No, but now you know who that propaganda works on," Dunleavy wrote.
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