House Dem Stumbles Over Nature: ‘Tarantula’ Putin Weaved ‘Spiderweb’ in U.S.
(Update, Monday, 3:55 pm Eastern: Rep. Speier issued a humorous apology for her error. See below)
Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier likened Russian President Vladimir Putin to a tarantula on Monday during a congressional hearing with FBI Director James Comey and NSA Director Michael Rogers. However, she mistakenly indicated that this type of spider weaves webs.
The California congresswoman first asserted that Russia’s apparent interference in the 2016 presidential race was “an act of war – an act of hybrid warfare. And I think that’s why the American people should be concerned about it.”
Rep. Speier continued that “in terms of trying to understand this, I think of a spider web with a tarantula in the middle. And the tarantula, in my view, is Vladimir Putin — who is entrapping many people to do his bidding and to engage with him.”
The Democratic politician then claimed that “Roger Stone and Carter Page and Michael Caputo and Wilbur Ross and Paul Manafort and Rex Tillerson” were among those caught in Putin’s “spiderweb.” She first zeroed in on Secretary of State Tillerson.
It should be pointed out that while tarantulas do produce silk, they do not use webs to catch their prey.
Rep. Speier revisited her faulty “tarantula web” analogy later in the hearing, as she raised another issue regarding Secretary Tillerson.
Update: Rep. Speier’s Twitter accounted posted an apology of sorts for her mistake during the hearing:
Apologies to all Tarantula-Americans who I inadvertently offended by suggesting u spin webs. Sending a basket of insects to nearest burrow. pic.twitter.com/9ilgGnjxZs
— Jackie Speier (@RepSpeier) March 20, 2017
[image via screengrab]
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