Conservative firebrand Dinesh D’Souza is at it again. His latest tweet condemning President Barack Obama forced him to issue a quasi-apology after it triggered widespread criticism within minutes on social media. The offensive comment also had many noting that this was just another blatant attempt for the notorious right-wing figure to garner attention and buzz.
D’Souza — an author, former president of King’s College and convicted felon — posted the following message to his account on Wednesday morning:
Last week, Obama participated in a BuzzFeed video titled, "Things Everybody Does But Doesn't Talk About," in an attempt to promote Obamacare with a younger crowd. The footage went viral, with scenes showing the president holding a "selfie stick," speaking alone in front of a mirror, dipping a cookie in a glass of milk, and pretending to practice his basketball shots.
D'Souza's tweet shows the image of Obama taking a selfie. After people called him out for what they called an offensive post, D'Souza responded:
D’Souza is a longtime conservative activist who first rose to prominence in the 1980s when he was a one-time policy analyst under former President Ronald Reagan. In 2012, he was ousted as the president of King’s College, a small religious Christian school in New York City, after appearing at a conservative event with his “fiancée.” He was married to another woman at the time.
D’Souza was indicted last January for violating federal campaign finance laws. He pleaded guilty in May, admitting to arranging for straw donors to contribute $20,000 to New York Republican Wendy Long's failed U.S. Senate bid. He was later put on probation.
He also previously made headlines when he tweeted a joke about Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager who was shot to death in February 2012.
Allegedly motivated by his longtime friendship with Long, D'Souza made the high-grossing 2012 documentary, "2016: Obama's America," with the tagline, "Love him. Hate him. You don't know him." The film, which is highly critical of the president, features an interview with Obama's half-brother, George. D'Souza tried to build the case that the president turned his back on his relative in Kenya. His half-brother denies to D'Souza that he feels neglected by the commander-in-chief of the United States.
The backlash on social media to D'Souza's latest remark was both swift and fierce.