CNN political reporter Daniella Diaz sent a tweet on Monday pointing out that President Trump and Sen. Mitch McConnell locked hands while walking up stairs at the White House following their Rose Garden press conference. Diaz seemed to be mocking the Republican duo – but while followers quickly pointed out that the Kentucky senator is a polio survivor, the tweet remains on her feed nearly 24 hours later.
“That hand-lock between Trump and McConnell, though,” Diaz wrote with video of the incident.
A CNN colleague called out Diaz, quoting her tweet and explaining the situation. At the time this article was published, Diaz had not deleted the tweet. Daily Beast Senior Editor Andrew Kirell also asked what was going on in a since-deleted response.
“McConnell is a polio survivor, a reason why stairs can be tricky at times,” CNN's Senior Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju wrote. “McConnell often goes up a step at a time, sometimes needs railing for assistance. This time, used Trump for balance.”
Many users commented on Diaz’s tweet, saying it needs to be removed and criticizing the CNN reporter for the message. “You're making fun of the President of the United States helping a polio survivor that stumbled. Stay classy CNN, stay classy,” one user responded.
Back in 1990, McConnell explained his medical situation in a campaign ad when running 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.
Before the polio vaccine was introduced in 1955, tens of thousands of American 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.
“So very cheap and sleazy journalism -- if it even could be called journalism just a hate post,” one user wrote, while another said, “He had polio. Read a bio first if you're going to report on people. It's been known since he went to Congress.”
Another commenter schooled Diaz, “You are probably too young to realize that people used to get polio in this country. Childhood polio isn't funny.”
CNN did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
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