In a tweet Friday, CNN contributor Brian Fallon compared Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie to the white nationalists who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“Live look at Ed Gillespie campaign strategy meeting,” said Fallon before including the famous image of shouting tiki-torch bearing protesters in Virginia.
Live look at Ed Gillespie campaign strategy meeting: pic.twitter.com/izcs57hZUv
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) October 27, 2017
The “joke” from Fallon comes after anti-Gillespie forces sent a mailer to voters linking the GOP candidate to the rallies that recently rocked the state and left one dead, the Washington Post reported.
“The mailer features images of [Gillespie and President Donald Trump] above a photo of the white nationalists with the text, ‘On Tuesday November 7th, Virginia Gets To Stand Up…To Hate,’” wrote Post reporter Fenit Nirappil.
The Post also noted that Gillespie “has repeatedly condemned the white nationalists behind the Charlottesville protest.”
The commentary complicates efforts by CNN to present the network as a fact-focused, no-nonsense shop, something they reiterated with great fanfare in their viral “this is an apple” commercial unveiled this week.
It was a fact not lost on Washington Free Beacon reporter Alex Griswold.
Hey @CNN, is this tweet from your employee an apple or a banana? Please advise https://t.co/wjJJhNQuhD
— OoOoOo I’m a Ghost (@HashtagGriswold) October 27, 2017
A spokesperson from CNN did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment on the matter.
It’s not the first time Fallon — Hillary Clinton’s former Press Secretary — has tweeted eyebrow-raising sentiments. Earlier this month he called President Trump’s Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly “odious.”
Kelly isnt just an enabler of Trump. He’s a believer in him. That makes him as odious as the rest. Dont be distracted by the uniform.
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) October 19, 2017