A CNN political reporter has come under fire for a tweet that appeared to be mocking polio survivor Sen. Mitch McConnell as he held hands with President Trump after a press conference in the Rose Garden.
The tweet by CNN’s Daniella Diaz Monday afternoon was posted along with a video of Trump guiding McConnell up stairs. It was captioned ‘That hand-lock between Trump and McConnell, though.’
Diaz’s colleague, CNN’s Senior Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju, weighed in writing ‘McConnell is a polio survivor, a reason why stairs can be tricky at times.’
Raju added in ‘McConnell often goes up a step at a time, sometimes needs railing for assistance. This time, used Trump for balance.’
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President Donald Trump helps Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell up the stairs after speaking with reporters in the Rose Garden Monday
Twitter users were quick to lash out at CNN’s Daniella Diaz who seemed unaware, by this tweet, that McConnell was a childhood polio survivor
The press conference was on a variety of topics including the opioid crisis, aid to hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico and the ongoing Russia probe
In 1990, according to Fox News, McConnell explained his medical condition in a campaign ad for re-election in Kentucky.
‘When I was a child and my dad was in World War II, I got polio. I recovered, but my family almost went broke,’ McConnell explained.
The polio vaccine was introduced in 1955, after tens of thousands of children developed paralytic polio every year, according to WebMD.
Post-polio syndrome affects some people who had the condition, and symptoms include extreme fatigue, joint pain and progressive weakness in muscles.
The Twitter-sphere reacted immediately to Diaz’s tweet which had not been taking down over 24 hours after it was posted.
This particular tweet responded to Diaz’s statements with an overall dig at CNN
One person called on CNN to fire the reporter for her tweet
Timothy Meads accused Diaz of being clueless for her comments
Another Twitter user criticized her for mocking polio survivor McConnell
One Twitter member admitted they weren’t fans of the Republican, but insisted Diaz’s comments were insensitive
The press conference hit on a variety of topics including the opioid crisis, aide for hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico and the ongoing investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Followers were quick to scold Diaz for being insensitive about the Kentucky senator being a childhood polio survivor.
One replied ‘You’re making fun of the President of the United States helping a polio survivor that stumbled. Stay classy CNN, stay classy.’
With another scolding the journalist: ‘You are probably too young to realize that people used to get polio in this country. Childhood polio isn’t funny.’
Scott Fitzgerald, whose mother had polio, urged Diaz to do some research before making the comments online