Newly exposed tweets paint an even uglier — and more racist — image of Ken Isaacs, the Trump administration’s choice to serve as director general of the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration.
CNN reported on an additional 140 tweets Isaacs penned over recent years, claiming Islam “is not peaceful” and urging Switzerland and Austria to build a wall “to control their borders from refugees.” The Twitter posts add to a number of publicized tweets which were reported on immediately after he was nominated to the position in February.
Isaacs’ posts shed light on what his potential thinking may be like as the head of an international organization tasked with providing assistance to millions of migrants globally.
“I have re-tweeted many things to stimulate conversation,” Isaacs told the Associated Press on Monday, “But at the same time … have never shown discrimination against anybody, for anything.”
Via CNN:
In May 2016, Isaacs responded to a tweet saying refugees should be viewed as an asset saying, “refugees with other worldviews won’t be the same as other
immigrants.”Also in May 2016, Isaacs said that Austria and Switzerland should consider building a wall in the Alps to “control their borders from refugees.”In May 2017, Isaacs shared a link to an article saying Islam was not a religion of peace and warned that during Ramadan, “Muslims fast, they also blast.”In July 2016, after a terrorist attack in Nice, France, Isaacs tweeted out “Nice #Islam is not peaceful” next to a picture from the attack of a covered dead body next to a child’s doll.In response to a June 2016 tweet blaming assault rifles for the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Isaacs simply tweeted “#Islam.” That same day, in response to another tweet lamenting the attack in Orlando and the frequency of mass shootings, Isaacs again tweeted “#Islam.”In September 2016, Isaacs tweeted that “All #Islamic #terrorists literally follow #Islam.”
Isaacs has also tweeted links to stories from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones discussing the fake news “Clinton Body Count” story and others describing climate change as a “hoax.”
Isaacs does not have any reported plans to remove himself from the nomination. The State Department’s spokesperson Heather Nauert offered a defense for Isaacs on Friday, saying he “apologized for the comments he posted on his private social media account” and “is committed to helping refugees and has a long history of assisting those who are suffering.”
[image via screengrab]