Democratic strategist Kurt Bardella tweets, 'How long until Republicans start floating policies to impose a dress code on women'



Kurt Bardella, who indicates that he is a Democratic strategist, posted a tweet on Monday suggesting that the GOP may eventually start advocating for a dress code for women.

"How long until Republicans start floating policies to impose a dress code on women …" Bardella tweeted.

Christina Pushaw, who stepped down last month from her role as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' press secretary and became the rapid response director for the governor's campaign, responded to Bardella by declaring, "The only people calling to mandate face coverings are Democrats."

\u201c@kurtbardella The only people calling to mandate face coverings are Democrats\u201d
— Kurt Bardella (@Kurt Bardella) 1664202895

Tim Carney, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, tweeted, "I'm pretty sure the party mandating face coverings this decade wasn't the gop."

Mary Margaret Olohan of the Daily Signal tweeted "what is a women," in response to Bardella's comment.

Bardella has previously claimed that that the GOP is a "domestic terrorist cell."

"The Republican Party, the MAGA Republicans, are a domestic terrorist cell operating in America," he said during an appearance on MSNBC.

The death of a young woman, who died not long after being arrested by morality police in the Islamic Republic of Iran, has been the subject of international attention, with some Iranians engaging in protest.

CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour noted last week that she had been scheduled to interview Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in New York, but that the interview fell through after she refused to acquiesce to a sudden demand that she don a headscarf.

"I politely declined. We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition regarding headscarves. I pointed out that no previous Iranian president has required this when I have interviewed them outside Iran," Amanpour noted. "The aide made it clear that the interview would not happen if I did not wear a headscarf. He said it was 'a matter of respect,' and referred to 'the situation in Iran' - alluding to the protests sweeping the country," Amanpour added.

\u201cThe aide made it clear that the interview would not happen if I did not wear a headscarf. He said it was \u201ca matter of respect,\u201d and referred to \u201cthe situation in Iran\u201d - alluding to the protests sweeping the country. 5/7\u201d
— Christiane Amanpour (@Christiane Amanpour) 1663850355

'The interview didn't happen': CNN's Christiane Amanpour refuses to meet demand that she wear a headscarf in order to interview the Iranian president in New York



CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour said that she had been scheduled to interview Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in New York, but the interview fell through after she declined to meet a sudden demand to don a headscarf.

"Protests are sweeping Iran & women are burning their hijabs after the death last week of Mahsa Amini, following her arrest by the 'morality police'. Human rights groups say at least 8 have been killed. Last night, I planned to ask President Raisi about all this and much more," Amanpour tweeted. "This was going to be President Raisi's first ever interview on US soil, during his visit to NY for UNGA. After weeks of planning and eight hours of setting up translation equipment, lights and cameras, we were ready. But no sign of President Raisi," she added.

Amanpour noted that 40 minutes after the session had been slated to begin, an aide to the Iranian president delivered the ultimatum that she must wear the headscarf or else the interview would not take place.

She recounted that "40 minutes after the interview had been due to start, an aide came over. The president, he said, was suggesting I wear a headscarf, because it's the holy months of Muharram and Safar."

"I politely declined. We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition regarding headscarves. I pointed out that no previous Iranian president has required this when I have interviewed them outside Iran," Amanpour continued. "The aide made it clear that the interview would not happen if I did not wear a headscarf. He said it was 'a matter of respect,' and referred to 'the situation in Iran' - alluding to the protests sweeping the country," she noted.

"Again, I said that I couldn't agree to this unprecedented and unexpected condition," Amanpour noted. "And so we walked away. The interview didn't happen. As protests continue in Iran and people are being killed, it would have been an important moment to speak with President Raisi," she concluded.

\u201cAnd so we walked away. The interview didn\u2019t happen. As protests continue in Iran and people are being killed, it would have been an important moment to speak with President Raisi. 7/7\u201d
— Christiane Amanpour (@Christiane Amanpour) 1663850355

Michael Phelps addresses transgender swimmer controversy, declares that sports must 'be played on an even playing field'



Swimming legend Michael Phelps addressed the controversy surrounding transgender swimmer Lia Thomas last week and expressed the importance of fair competition.

Thomas — a University of Pennsylvania swimmer who was born a biological male and competed as a male swimmer for most of her life — has dominated female competition in recent months.

Although Thomas took one year of testosterone suppression treatment in compliance with NCAA rules, critics believe that Thomas has an unfair competitive advantage. After all, Thomas was a highly competitive swimmer when competing as a male, even earning second-team All-Ivy League honors during the 2018-2019 swimming season.

What did Phelps say?

Speaking with CNN host Christiane Amanpour, Phelps said that sports must "be played on an even playing field," something critics of Thomas say is not possible when a biological male completes against biological females.

"Look, like, I will say — I can talk from a standpoint of doping. I don't think I have competed in a clean field in my entire career," Phelps said. "So, I think this leads back to the organizing committees again, because it has to be a level playing field."

"I think that's something that we all need, because it's — like, that's what sports are," Phelps continued. "And, for me, I don't know where this is going to go. I don't know what's going to happen. I believe that we all should feel comfortable with who we are in our own skin. But I think sports should all be played on an even playing field. I don't know what that looks like in the future. But it's hard."

Phelps, a 23-time Olympic gold medalist, described the situation as "very complicated" but emphasized fairness in sports competition.

"This has been my sport my whole entire career. And I — honestly, the one thing I would love is everybody to be able to compete on an even playing field. That's all I can say," Phelps said.

Reacting to ongoing debate over trans college athlete Lia Thomas competing on the women\u2019s swimming team, \u201cit\u2019s very complicated,\u201d says @MichaelPhelps. \u201cWe all should feel comfortable with who we are in our own skin. But I think sports should be played on an even playing field.\u201dpic.twitter.com/brsq7t2vJW
— Christiane Amanpour (@Christiane Amanpour) 1642099658

Thomas made headlines again last week after she allegedly compared herself to Jackie Robinson.

"She compares herself to Jackie Robinson. She said she is like the Jackie Robinson of trans sports," one of Thomas’ teammates told the Washington Examiner.

"She laughs about it and mocks the situation. Instead of caring or showing that she cares about what she’s doing or what she’s doing to her teammates, she’s not sympathetic or empathetic at all," the teammate added. "Lia never addressed our team. She never asked if it was OK. She never asked how we felt. She never tried to explain how she feels. She never has said anything to us as a group. She never addressed anything."

CNN's Christiane Amanpour blasted for comparing Trump's term to Nazis' Kristallnacht: 'Disgusting'



CNN International anchor Christiane Amanpour compared President Donald Trump's four years in office to the Nazis' Kristallnacht. After Amanpour made the comparison of President Trump's first term to the campaign of terror against Jewish people in 1938, the CNN International segment from Thursday was characterized as "despicable" and "disgusting."

"This week 82 years ago, Kristallnacht happened," Amanpour said on her interview TV show. "It was the Nazis' warning shot across the bow of our human civilization that led to genocide against a whole identity and, in that tower of burning books, it led to an attack on fact, knowledge, history and truth.

"After four years of a modern-day assault on those same values by Donald Trump, the Biden-Harris team pledges a return to normal," she said as images of wrecked storefronts and a book burning were displayed on her show "Amanpour." "And every day Joe Biden makes presidential announcements about good governance and the health and security of the American people, while the great, brooding figure of his defeated opponent rages, conducting purges of perceived enemies and preventing a transition."

This is ⁦⁦@camanpour on⁩ ⁦@CNN⁩ comparing Trump’s tenure to Nazi Germany. How the hell is this sort of prejudice to… https://t.co/vHe3KE6drY
— Ben Habib (@Ben Habib)1605208223.0

Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass," was the two-day onslaught on Jews in Germany that began on the night of Nov. 9, 1938. "Over 250 synagogues were burned, over 7,000 Jewish businesses were trashed and looted, dozens of Jewish people were killed, and Jewish cemeteries, hospitals, schools, and homes were looted while police and fire brigades stood by," according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

"The morning after the pogroms 30,000 German Jewish men were arrested for the 'crime' of being Jewish and sent to concentration camps, where hundreds of them perished. Some Jewish women were also arrested and sent to local jails. Businesses owned by Jews were not allowed to reopen unless they were managed by non-Jews. Curfews were placed on Jews, limiting the hours of the day they could leave their homes."

There was a wave of backlash against Amanpour on Twitter.

StopAntisemitism.org reacted to the segment by saying, "Hey @CNN@camanpour please stop using the horrors of the Holocaust to justify an agenda. Our suffering is not yours to play political ping pong with."

StopAntisemitism.org is a self-described organization "that works to hold antisemites accountable and to create consequences for their bigoted actions by exposing the threat that they present to all Americans and showing how their ideologies conflict with American values, morals, and principles."

Hey @CNN @camanpour please stop using the horrors of the Holocaust to justify an agenda.Our suffering is not your… https://t.co/URi1h68Pg8
— StopAntisemitism.org (@StopAntisemitism.org)1605274036.0

The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council called Amanpour's comparison "despicable."

"@camanpour compares verbal fact checking of a POTUS to a Nazi pogrom in which dozens of Jews were murdered. Amanpour uses the book burning of Kristallnacht to reach this comparison thus ignoring the overall deadliness and human cost of the night," the Council tweeted.

"This is not the 'typical' comparison of a political figure to Hitler or Nazism which is sadly done too often. @camanpour took a verbal fact checking thing about a politician and compared it to a specific violent and deadly event (Kristallnacht) by the Nazis."

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said, "A glimpse of what so many of the people who control large corporations, the media and Hollywood really think. That the over 72 million Americans who voted for Trump are supporters of the modern day equivalent of Nazi's."

Boris Epshteyn, a strategic adviser for the Trump campaign, wrote, "DISGUSTING demeaning of the Holocaust by ⁦@camanpour⁩, ⁦@CNN. How far the left goes to wrongfully attack ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ is depraved. Will ⁦@cnn do the right thing?"

Sohrab Ahmari, New York Post opinion editor, replied, "@camanpour: I'm ashamed to have to count you an Iranian compatriot. This is a grotesque abuse of history, a horrific, ahistorical equivalence-drawing, a shameful cheapening of the Shoah."

Richochet editor Bethany Mandel told Fox News, "It's disgusting, though not surprising, that a major media figure would use dead Jews as a way to make a cheap political point.

"It is something progressives have done for a long time, disgracing the memory of those who have passed in the Holocaust in order to make a false accusation against the United States president," Mandel continued. "It seems the only time many people care about anti-Semitism is when they can use it to their political advantage."

Last week, Amanpour compared Trump to former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by saying, "A reflection on President Trump's comments last night: The last President I covered who refused to accept the vote count in an election was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran, 2009."

A reflection on President Trump’s comments last night: The last President I covered who refused to accept the vot… https://t.co/Gwdn7IPDT4
— Christiane Amanpour (@Christiane Amanpour)1604645210.0