North Carolina lawmaker rebuked over fake newspaper article about election

A North Carolina state lawmaker is under fire from his fellow Republican legislators after emailing them a fake newspaper headline that said “Trump forces black family from home” and showed a picture of the White House.

The Raleigh News & Observer reported that the email was sent to House Republican caucus members by Rep. George Cleveland of Onslow County.

Two legislators rebuked Cleveland. House Rules Chairman David Lewis of Harnett County wrote in response that legislators "must be smart enough to know our words and actions matter."

Rep. Bob Steinburg of Chowan County responded that it was a poor and tasteless attempt at humor.

Cleveland defended the mail Friday, saying it "was a bit of humor that I thought was a good jab at the media."

According to the paper, Rep. John Blust of Greensboro responded to the email with a jab at students who were troubled by the election and said that his fellow lawmakers needed to “develop some thick skin.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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