Weekly Standard co-founder John Podhoretz ripped Rep. Steve King for agreeing with President Trump‘s assertion that the defunct conservative publication was “pathetic and dishonest,” calling the Iowa Republican “a disgusting liar and a stain on American public life.”
The Sunday afternoon slam by Podhoretz, who co-founded The Weekly Standard in 1995 along with Fred Barnes and outspoken Trump critic Bill Kristol, came after King took to Twitter to state that the magazine’s demise was “deserved.”
.@RealDonaldTrump is right on The Weekly Standard’s deserved demise (“pathetic and dishonest”). If the articles targeting me were redacted until only truth remained, there would not be much left to read. https://t.co/lnqnU5orBx
— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) December 16, 2018
Podhoretz, who served as a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard and is currently the editor of Commentary magazine, went off on King not long after his tweet.
The problem with this tweet is that you are a foul, disgusting liar and a stain on American public life. The stench of your deceit and your views pollutes your district, your state, your party, and the United States. https://t.co/6Aate5nHSb
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) December 16, 2018
Critics had charged that the publication’s readership dwindled because it, and particularly Kristol, had alienated Trump supporters by regularly ridiculing the president. In September, for example, Kristol announced during an interview with CNBC that he was building a “war machine” within the Republican Party to challenge the president’s 2020 reelection campaign. He also called Trump “disgraceful” and “buffoonish” in other interviews. – READ MORE