A CNN pundit took heavy online ridicule for her word choice on Tuesday, after referring to President Donald Trump as "retarded" in a now-deleted social media post.
Sophia Nelson, who describes herself as a "frequent" guest on CNN, was reacting to a critical tweet about the president from fellow anti-Trump Republican Rick Wilson, when she replied, "They just always got an excuse to cover for his retarded ass!"
The backlash came quickly against Nelson, the former GOP counsel for the House Oversight Committee, and she explained that she deleted her comment after the father of a special needs child called her out "with class and grace" for using the derogatory term. Nelson then noted that the "nasty ass twitter bully mob" still came after her.
Nelson admitted that she understood why the word "retarded" was offensive many people, yet, she continued to defend herself for her choice of language. She argued that she used the word because it was used frequently among people of her generation in the past, while asserted that referring to the president as "retarded" was "being kind."
Nelson is also a senior adviser to the Lincoln Project, whose mission is to "defeat President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box." Mr. Wilson is a co-founder of the initiative.
When a reporter from the Daily Caller pointed out Nelson's position, she doubled down and insisted on calling the president "retarded" once again.
"This is a great hit job you guys are attempting because I called Trump a 'retarded ass.' He is that," Nelson wrote. "This has zero reference to disabled or special needs persons."