John McCain Called 'Racist' After Cracking Ahmadinejad 'Monkey' Joke: 'This Is What Passes for a Serious GOP U.S. Senator These Days

Sen. John McCain speaks to a crowd of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney supporters in front of the Niceville City Hall complex in Niceville, Fla. Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012. McCain was in the Panahandle Tuesday campaigning for Romney.Credit: AP

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is under fire on Twitter for being one of many to mock Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's claim that he wants to be the first Iranian to reach outer space.

The news follows Iran's declaration that they successfully launched a monkey into orbit.  There's still some confusion as to whether they actually did it, but the Iranians are sticking to their story despite expert testimony that two different monkeys are seen in the "before" and "after" photos).

Regardless, John McCain joked:

So Ahmadinejad wants to be first Iranian in space - wasn't he just there last week? "Iran launches monkey into space" news.yahoo.com/iran-launches-…

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) February 4, 2013

The backlash was swift, with at least one other member of Congress joining in the criticism of McCain's tweet (content warning):

(Photo: Twitter/@SenJohnMcCain)

When McCain later added, "Re: Iran space tweet - lighten up folks, can't everyone take a joke?" Representative Justin Amash (R-MI) didn't seem able to let it go.

Maybe you should wisen up & not make racist jokes. “@senjohnmccain: Re: Iran space tweet - lighten up folks, can't everyone take a joke?”

— Justin Amash (@repjustinamash) February 4, 2013

Amash is reportedly of Palestinian descent.

--

Related:

• Iran Claims It’s Rolled out a Stealth Fighter Jet — But Is it Real?
• Biden: We’re Prepared to Hold Direct Talks With Iran — But Only if They Take it Seriously
• The Picture of the Monkey Iran Sent Into Space Will Likely Break Your Heart